


Quarter To Midnight

by mizuki



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Family, Friendship/Love, Slice of Life, it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-09-26 10:57:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 36,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9892316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizuki/pseuds/mizuki
Summary: After all this time of mere acquaintance, Tifa and Vincent learn more about each other as their friendship develops, will this friendship blossom into something even greater...The start of something new.





	1. Warmth

He came every Wednesday, always at quarter to midnight. Rain or shine, he'd always come, giving her a slight nod of his head the moment he stepped past the threshold of Seventh Heaven. Always making his way towards his favored table next to the windows, and ordering the same single glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Sitting silently at his table, he would read the book that he brought with him and always when she would close up for the night, he'd carefully close his book and help her with clearing up. Most of the time, clearing up was done in amiable silence, broken only by her random comments or remarks of the day. It was like their unbroken routine every Wednesday.

* * *

The very first time Vincent came over was when Cloud just happened to be home for the day. It was a quiet night, and rather warm for an early May evening. Cloud was in the back room grabbing a new box of Wutai Liquor when Vincent came in. It was surprising to say the least when his familiar crimson mantel appeared in the corner table by the window. Smiling cheerfully she made her way over to him.

"Vincent!"

He nodded at her, "Tifa."

"What brings you in town? How have you been? Oh, would you like something to drink? It's on the house." She knew she sounded really perky but she just couldn't keep her excitement from escaping. Vincent only ever came to visit when he either had some business to do for the WRO or to help out with Cloud's deliveries. The last time she saw him was a year ago after the Deepground incident.

He hesitated for a moment before answering, "I'm just visiting; Reeve wanted me to check in on you two. If the offer still stands, I'd like a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon."

"Sure, coming right up." Giving him another smile she walked back over to the bar and prepared his drink, "You should have called, how is Reeve doing anyways?"

"He is fine, still overworking me without pay." he said wryly

"Tifa, where-

Turning around, she gave Cloud a smile, "Guess who decided to drop by."

Cloud propped the box of liquor onto the bar top, dusted his hands off and smiled, "Hey Vince, how are things going?"

Nodding his head at Cloud, Vincent then pulled out his phone and placed it on the table, "Busy, but nothing too strenuous. If you see Yuffie on your next delivery, tell her to stop calling me for no reason."

"I'll try telling her that _again_." Said Cloud with a chuckle.

Tifa placed Vincent's glass of wine in front of him and returned to the bar, "She's only being friendly."

Vincent gave her a disbelieving look and raised an eyebrow at her, "…Calling fifteen times in a single day…?"

Openly laughing at Vincent's remark, Tifa opened the mini fridge and pulled out a slice of the dark chocolate cake that she made the other day and placed it in front of him, "Here, a reward for putting up with Yuffie's antics. Don't worry; she will eventually learn to curb her enthusiasm some day."

"Hopefully soon." added Vincent as she walked away from him with a grin.

* * *

The next time Vincent came over, Seventh Heaven was surprisingly packed for a Wednesday night and he was forced to sit at the bar on the side, quietly reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Just as the last customer left, and Tifa locked the main door to the bar, she heard Vincent put away the mop and take a seat back at the bar where his book lay. Curious as to why he didn't leave yet, she walked back over to the bar and began washing the glasses, giving him a few glances every so often.

"…Is there something wrong?" said Vincent as he looked up from his book and caught her glancing at him.

She then blushed, and stuttered out, "Um…s-sorry, I was wondering…you don't have to stick around."

He then closed his eyes and slowly opened them again, looking directly into her eyes as he then said, "I assumed that you could use the company since Cloud hasn't been around lately."

Tearing her eyes away from his intense gaze, she then focused on scrubbing a glass, and tried to keep the tears in her eyes from falling, "T-thank you."

It was hard, only two months after Vincent's first visit, Cloud started to become more and more distant to Tifa. She had asked him what was wrong and he wouldn't answer her or he would lie to her whenever she pushed the subject. Eventually, it got to the point where they finally argued and she finally found out that Cloud wanted to take a break from this life. He then left without a word.

Just thinking about Cloud broke her heart; it wasn't until she noticed that she was scrubbing the same glass for the last five minutes that she was silently crying. Hiding her face from Vincent, Tifa tried to make small talk, but he noticed and placed a gloved hand over her own soapy hands, stopping her scrubbing.

"Tifa."

That was all it took, just the mention of her name in his low voice and Tifa dropped the glass in the sink and turned her back to him. Leaning against the sink, she slowly slid down to the floor and miserably sobbed with her soapy hands on her knees. She didn't notice it at the time, but Vincent came over and sat down next to her, letting her cry on his shoulder….

* * *

She awoke to the smell of eggs cooking from the kitchen of the bar, the next day. Blinking in confusion, she looked around and found that she was in children's room, and still dressed in yesterday's clothing. Getting up, she groaned as she felt the sting in her eyes. Recalling what happened last night, she quickly went into her bedroom, washed her face and took a quick shower, hoping she didn't trouble Vincent too much last night.

Coming down the stairs to the bar, she walked barefooted towards a table that had a single place setting with a freshly made ham omelette, buttered toast, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. The morning's paper was next to a single daffodil and a roughly ripped and folded paper. Picking up the paper and opening it up, it said:

_Reeve called._

_I hope you can bear with Yuffie; she will be coming later today._

_Vincent._

Vincent must have braved calling Yuffie to help keep her company, at that thought it brought a smile to her face.


	2. Laughter

It has been a full week since Yuffie arrived; she stayed in the kids' room and helped her with the orders in the bar. Today was her last day of staying here and the one day when Tifa closed Seventh Heaven and relaxed. Tifa knew that everyone was worried about her, it couldn't be helped she thought. She had to tell herself that her feelings for Cloud were _very_ obvious to everyone, and that they were bound to notice. But to have Yuffie tell it to her straight up; was still jarring to say the least.

"Tifa, you gotta get over him. He's a dummy for leaving. So stop moping around and help me with moving all this junk from the fridge." said Yuffie as she threw out the ripe pineapple and replaced it with the chocolate cake she bought yesterday.

"Yuffie! I can still eat that pineapple!" Tifa then quickly scooped the pineapple out of the trash and brought it to the sink.

"Pineapple, she-mai-apple…Tifa you need the good stuff, like this cake." Yuffie then grinned and closed the fridge and then pulled her over to the sitting room and plopped herself onto one side of the white love seat.

"So, what's the plan for today? It's your day off right, so let's go shopping!"

"Yuffie-

Before Tifa could even finish, Yuffie pulled her up from her seat and began dragging her with surprising strength towards the door.

"Yuffie, wait! Okay, okay, we'll go shopping let me just get my jacket and purse. You just wait outside; I'll be out in a minute, okay?"

She frowned and crossed her arms, "I don't think so."

And again, before Tifa could even protest further, Yuffie got her down the stairs and outside of the bar. Yuffie then had her hand out as if waiting for Tifa to give her something. Tifa gave her a puzzled look.

Yuffie pointedly looked at her right pocket, "The keys."

Tifa smiled and pulled them out, "You're pretty observant."

Yuffie stood up proudly and grinned, "Of course, you gotta be if you want to be as amazing as me." She then locked up Seventh Heaven for Tifa and told her to get into the black Bentley that was parked at the curb. She complied and stepped into the car and they both were driven to the local mall.

* * *

By the time Tifa got back to the bar, it was pretty late when she realized there was someone standing in the shadows of the alley and the next building. She was about to call out when the person stepped under the street light.

"Oh, Vincent you scared me. C'mon in."

Tifa opened up the backdoor and he followed her in. Closing the door behind him, she motioned for him to head over to the bar while she went upstairs to freshen up, "Feel free to mix something to drink if you'd like."

Standing in front of the mirror Tifa noticed the dark rings under her eyes and sighed. She knew she was keeping Vincent waiting so she quickly splashed some water on her face and put on a smile.

Tifa was about to ask him what he was drinking he surprised her with his comment.

"You don't have to pretend with me Tifa. If you want me to leave, just say it."

She honestly didn't know what to say, here was Vincent Valentine telling her that it was alright if she wanted to kick him out. Tifa knew after the whole Deepground incident that he changed but to this extent was surprising. She then noticed that he just caught himself by surprise with that statement, his eyes widened just slightly, and she couldn't help but giggle a little.

"No Vincent please stay, you're no trouble." She then sat on the stool next to him and smiled at him. "Also, thank you for breakfast and I'm sorry about last week."

"I hope I didn't trouble you. It's just Cloud…" she tried so hard to keep the tears from forming but still it was no use. Even saying his name brought back the pain.

"It was no trouble and there is no need for apologies." He said, and then he reached over the bar top and pulled the box of tissues up and placed it in front of her.

They both sat there in complete yet amiable silence. After a while Tifa found that she was sitting there staring transfixed at the way the light bounced on his metal gauntlet. Before she knew it he moved his hand so that she could examine it.

Glancing up at him, she waited for his approval and he gave her a nod. Tentatively she reached forward and lightly placed her fingers on it, it was surprisingly warm. Feeling a little braver she flipped his hand so it was palm up, she was about to touch his palm when he flexed his fingers and she jumped back in surprise.

He softly chuckled at her reaction and she laughed a bit at how silly she was being.

"Is it heavy?" She quickly covered my mouth, she didn't mean to blurt that out but it was too late now, "Sorry! I-

"No. It is not heavy."

Tifa then realized how stupid that question was, of course it wasn't heavy for him, and he should be used to it by now. She was about to ask him another question when he answered it for her.

"I take it off when I don't need it." He then gave her a knowing smirk.

Tifa was about to ask how he knew what she was about to say but she couldn't help but blush and smile widely at his reply.

"Any more questions Ms. Lockhart?" said Vincent with a crooked smirk as he finished his drink and stood.

Shaking her head, Tifa watched as he waved goodnight and left her sitting there smiling. She couldn't help but laugh as she realized that he distracted her from her pain and cheered her up in his own way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little friendly banter.


	3. Drunken

* * *

The alcohol dulled the pain, it made everything less sharp. Tifa usually wouldn't drown her sorrows in alcohol but she just couldn't take it anymore.

"Give me another!"

She knew her buzz was starting, she could feel the warmth from her stomach rise up. Tifa only had ten shots of Nibel vodka and she could see that Shelke was trying to stop her from getting her eleventh shot…

* * *

What started out as a normal Wednesday morning turned to a living hell for her. It was a relatively normal morning for Tifa, waking up and doing her usual routine of showering and getting dressed.

She was about to open the door to the bathroom, when it opened and there was Cloud. Freshly showered and clothed. Judging from the expression on his face he wasn't expecting her to be awake this early.

To Tifa it felt like an eternity standing there just staring at him, he looked slightly tanned and his eyes were the same blue as ever but with a guilty look in them. She just wanted him to stay and explain why he couldn't stay and be a family. It wasn't until he stepped past her that she quickly grabbed his arm, "Cloud, stay."

He shook her hand off and continued down the hall without saying a word. So she chased after him down the steps to the bar.

"Cloud wait! I'm sorry for whatever I did."

He stopped and turned around to face her, "No, Tifa… I—

"If you're going to leave then leave now, you're doing Tifa no kindness by appearing here again."

The both of them turned to side door of the bar; there was Shelke standing on the threshold with her arms crossed and a pointed glare at Cloud.

He frowned at Shelke and then shook his head as if it was useless for him to explain himself. He turned and opened the door, pausing a moment, he turned back around and gave Tifa a sad smile, "Take care."

Tifa couldn't believe it, she took a few steps forward towards a bar stool but her knees gave in and she slumped to the floor in shock. He was gone, never to return. That 'take care' definitely was a goodbye. After all this time, that little blond boy sitting next to her as she stared up at the stars and the promise he made her was thrown away just like that. she wasn't even crying she didn't feel anything; everything in the bar came into sharp focus.

Somehow Tifa got up and turned to Shelke, she came over and led her back upstairs to get dressed for the day. The day passed by in a blur, Tifa just felt completely numb and she found herself in a slinky black dress with stiletto heels sitting at the bar in a club somewhere in the downtown district of Edge.

The strobe lights and music didn't help, Tifa had fended off a few of the men who approached her and now she was drinking on her own. She noticed Yuffie on the dance floor letting loose and Shelke noticed her staring so she came over to the bar. Tifa tried to hide the large collection of shot glasses next to her but Shelke noticed.

"Tifa, I think you had enough."

She waved to the bartender, "Give her shot yeah."

The bartender smiled at her and patted her arm, "Darling, I don't think you should have anymore."

She quickly opened her clutch purse and pulled out a handful of gils and shoved it in his hand, "Just give me the whole bottle."

Tifa could tell Shelke was glaring daggers at the bartender, but he smiled sheepishly at her as he handed Tifa the bottle.

Before Tifa could take a swing from the bottle a gloved hand had stopped her.

"Tifa, let's go."

The alcohol finally kicked in and what Tifa saw was a rather distorted looking Vincent standing in front of her. He made to grab the bottle away from her but she moved away from him, "Just leave me alone."

Tifa unsteadily made her way out of the club followed by Vincent. All she knew was that she wanted to just drown everything in alcohol; she didn't care what happened. By the time she stumbled her way to the nearest bus stop, a third of the bottle was gone. The pain she felt was now warmly numbed, she flung her arms out and spun, "Go fuck yourself Cloud Strife!"

She was about to fall off the curb when Vincent quickly caught her, she then wrapped her arms about his neck and drunkenly giggled, "You want a drink, Vin?"

He pursed his lips and wrestled the bottle from her hand, helping her stand, "I think it's time for you to get some rest."

When he didn't hear a reply from her, he glanced over at her; she was slumped against his shoulder finishing off the bottle. He frowned and watched as she flung the empty bottle and pushed him away from her. She stumbled her way towards the bar that was just across the street.

"Where are you going, Tifa?" called Vincent as he caught up with her.

She turned toward him and grinned widely, "To get another drink."

Tifa was about to reach the street corner when the heel of her shoe broke, she stumbled forward and unceremoniously fell. Vincent quickly ran over to see if she was hurt when she abruptly burst into laughter.

He helped her up, "I know a place where you can get another drink."

She smiled and patted his arm, "Lead the way!"

He lead her back towards the club, when she stopped and groaned. Being a bartender had its perks, but Tifa was way over her limit of hard liquor, she could feel the bile rising and the slight thudding from earlier was now a jackhammer in her skull.

"How much did you have to drink?"

Groaning again, she grasped her head, then ran over to the nearest alley and hurled. Vincent followed and rubbed her back and helped hold back her hair and asked again between her retches, "How much did you drink?"

She moved away from the alley and leaned against the wall of the building opposite, "Not enough."

Chuckling at her comment, he helped her up, "Let's get you something less vomit inducing."

She became a little more lucid and noticed that he wasn't wearing his usual red cowl and golden gauntlet; she squinted at him and he stared back at her in confusion.

"It's a leather jacket." she said slowly.

He smirked and walked away from her, "This way."

She grinned weakly and followed him to his car.


	4. Unexpected

The bed she was lying in was comfortable and warm. The morning sun flitted between the curtains as a breeze blew into the room. Tifa opened her eyes and blinked up at the ceiling. It was a ceiling she didn't recognize, there wasn't that speckled grey pattern but an egg white shade. She abruptly sat up and immediately regretted it, the throbbing in her head got even worse. Clutching her head, she groaned.

"Good morning."

She slowly turned to the voice to her left and rubbed her temples as she saw, Vincent get up from his slumped position on the chair to sit properly.

She frowned while she glanced around her. The room had a definitive male bachelor feel to it. With the large widescreen television on the wall opposite, a floor to ceiling bookshelf overflowing with a menagerie of books, and a medium sized desk next to the balcony doors.

Tifa glanced back at Vincent who seemed to be sitting on the edge of his chair and leaning forward as if in wait for her reaction. She blinked uncertainly but mustered up the courage and weakly smiled at him, "I'm at your place aren't I?"

Vincent nodded and rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand.

Tifa blinked at Vincent again. She stared at his un-gauntleted hand, then at his clothing. He was dressed in a white button-up shirt and black dress pants with his hair messily splayed on his shoulders.

He cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at her, "Yes?"

"Sorry I- I just never seen you in anything besides your battle outfit." She mumbled lamely as she stared pointedly at the comforter on her lap.

When she didn't hear a word from him, she quickly glanced back at him and noticed him giving her a bemused expression.

"You have actually." He stood and opened the curtains, which caused her to flinch away.

She sat there dumbfounded; she'd seen him dressed differently before?

The corners of his lips twitched up as he tried to stifle a laugh, "You don't remember what happened last night?"

She frowned at him and she saw him smirk at her then he immediately frowned.

"I'll make breakfast."

He then left the room without another word or glance back at her, with both his hands clenched tight.

She sat there in wonder at Vincent's odd behavior just now, then glanced down and noticed that one of the straps of her dress was just barely covering her breast. She fixed the strap onto her shoulder then smirked as she realized that it was this strap of her dress was what caused Vincent to suddenly leave the room in a rush. An idea came to her as she got out of the bed.

* * *

Vincent just took a sip from his mug when he saw Tifa step out of his bedroom with just one of his white dress shirts on. He coughed heavily as Tifa walked down the hallway towards him with an innocent smile on her face.

"Are you alright Vincent?"

He put down his mug and turned away from her catching his breath.

She fought the urge to laugh, and continued with her teasing. Picking up his mug she took a sip and glanced down at the mug, it was really good and her headache was disappearing. She glanced up and saw Vincent standing in front of her with his arms crossed.

"That's my mug."

She smiled, "I know."

He reached to take it away from her but she backed away before his fingers touched the mug. She gave him a playful smirk as he rolled his eyes and stepped around the kitchen counter. Again he made to reach for his mug, but she pulled it away from him and finished off the contents. She then ran behind the sofa with his empty mug, he chased after her and caught her before she could run off again.

Giggling she turned around in his arms and stared up at him, "Good morning."

He sighed and took the empty mug from her hands and pushed her towards the kitchen counter, "Good morning, now eat your breakfast."

He walked towards his room while she sat on a kitchen stool with a bright smile. She couldn't remember what happened last night but this morning things were going well.

"Vincent?"

A muffled yes was heard from the bedroom. Tifa again took in her surroundings, noting how clean and almost bare his apartment looked, but she liked it, the apartment was definitely Vincent's. She was just about to pick up the fork and dig in to the bacon and eggs that Vincent prepared when he stepped back into the kitchen dressed in a grey t-shirt and draw string sweat pants with a hardcover book in his hands.

Reading the title aloud she gave him a smile, "The Iliad"

He took a seat opposite her and opened the book and began reading. He just read the first passage when he looked up at her and raised an eyebrow, "Eat."

She smiled sheepishly at him realizing she was staring at him reading. Picking up the fork she took a bite, "This is really good."

"Good." Vincent said and continued reading.

Silence filled the room with the odd scrape of the fork and knife on the plate and the turning of the pages of Vincent's book. Tifa enjoyed her company with Vincent, but she was curious. She knew only so much about him and had so many questions.

"Where did you learn to cook?"

Without missing a beat he answered her without glancing up from his book, "Practice."

"What did you put on this toast?"

"Honey"

"Where did you get these eggs?"

"The Market"

"Oh I dropped my fork under there."

"Under where…?"

Vincent looked up from his book when he heard her giggle. He frowned and then rolled his eyes when he realized what he just said.

Tifa grinned at him then picked up the plate and utensils and brought it to the sink. She was about to rinse the plate when she felt Vincent standing next to her.

"Leave it. I'll drop you off at your place."

"But it's the least I can do after all this trouble."

They stood together by the sink for a minute, Vincent not backing down from insisting that she leave the dishes and Tifa refusing to let him do the dishes. He narrowed his eyes at her, as if daring that she deny him this request. In answer, she glared back at him stubborn in her insistence to at least wash the dishes.

Finally, he sighed then pointed to the cabinet door next to her, "I rinse you put it in the machine."

Widely grinning at him, she nodded.

"So, I'm guessing I got drunk but how did I end up here?"

He continued his rinsing when he said, "Shelke, she called and I was nearby."

Tifa put in the last dish in the machine, pressed the wash button then stood on her toes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, "Thank you, Vincent."

She then waltzed back towards his bedroom to change back into her dress; little did she notice the rare smile on his face at her retreating form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Vincent say "underwear" because I can and I'm a terrible terrible person.


	5. Closure

The following week after Vincent had dropped her off at her place had started out to be a busy one. Surprisingly, Vincent lived fairly close, only a ten minute drive, they had exchanged phone numbers with Tifa jokingly promising to not call him. The conversation during the drive back to her place was mostly done by Tifa, mentioning how she had to get things set up for the kids when they returned from the prestigious Kalm Academy Elementary School that Barret had insisted on putting them through. All the things that were happening around Tifa were a well-deserved distraction, those moments of relaxation she had with Vincent let her forget for a short time, but she knew deep down like a shadow over her heart, thoughts of Cloud lingered.

* * *

She was just about to lock the door to Seventh Heaven when Vincent appeared at his usual time at quarter to midnight.

"You made it. It's been a really slow night." She said as she locked the door behind him and switched the open sign off.

She watched as he took a seat on a bar stool but he didn't turn to face her or say a word. A thought came to her and she decided to try and scare him from behind. Tip-toeing as quietly as she could, she was just about to yell out when he suddenly chuckled.

"Nice try." He pointed to the mirrored surface of the open shelf where all the alcohol was placed.

She pouted and took a seat next to him.

"Hey, what's this?" She pointed to the shoe box he had pushed towards her.

"Open it."

She looked at the box suspiciously, "It's not my birthday and I don't wear size twelve shoes."

She glanced down at his feet then back at the shoe box, "You sure this is for me?"

"You forgot something at my place, open it."

Lifting the lid, she gasped in delight, it was her stiletto heels from that night she got drunk and passed out at his place. She had wondered where those shoes went, since she came home in her foldable flats she carried with her in her clutch. Pulling them out of the box, she noticed that they looked slightly different than before. Instead of being all black, now the soles of the shoes were a dark red color.

She pulled out a shoe then put it against Vincent's cowl.

"The heel of one of them was missing so I got them fixed for you."

"Did you get them fixed dressed like this?" She motioned with her hand at his familiar red mantel.

He gave her a strange look then slowly replied, "Yes."

Tifa giggled, the shoe repair man probably was inspired by Vincent's cowl and decided to fix her shoes to have a matching red color. She quickly pulled off her shoes and threw them aside. Slipping on the heels, she sauntered around the bar. She went down a row of tables then walked back towards Vincent, "What do you think?"

He sat there silent then brought his gauntleted hand to his chin, "I know nothing of women's fashion."

Sticking her tongue out at him, she was about to take a step towards him when she tripped. Vincent caught her just in time, they both glanced down at what tripped her, and they both laughed.

On the floor were her discarded shoes.

As their laughter subsided she smiled at him, "You always seem to be there to catch me when I fall."

He was about to answer her when a familiar face was pressed against the window and tapping on the glass.

Tifa glanced at Vincent then to guest and back. Unsure of what to do, she shrugged her shoulders and mouthed sorry to Vincent. He gave her a nod and released her from his arms; she went and opened the door as he took a seat back at the bar.

"Hey Tifa…." Said Reno, he then leaned to the side and saw Vincent, "H-hey…Valentine."

Vincent nonchalantly nodded in reply to his greeting.

"Reno what are you doing here?"

"Tifa, you gotta help me! Can I come in?"

Before she could reply, Reno quickly pushed past her and immediately locked the door behind him. She turned and gave Vincent a confused look in which he just raised his drink to her as if saying, good luck with sorting out his mess. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. Turning back to Reno, who was now on the floor hiding behind a booth, she sighed and carefully approached the panicked man.

"Hey, hey…Reno, what's wrong?"

She couldn't help but cover her mouth from laughing at seeing Reno, who was usually a slacker playboy, panicking and nervous.

"Tifa, check to see if he followed me or not okay?"

She glanced through the windows then back down at Reno, "I don't know what you're taking about. There's no one out there except Rude."

Reno was about to stop her when she walked off and opened the door for Rude. He quickly ducked back behind the booth when his eyes met his best friend's and prayed that this would all go away.

"Hey man, I totally didn't say anything! Honestly, I didn't say anything to her. Your secret is safe!"

Rude cracked his knuckles then hoisted Reno to his feet. He turned to Tifa who stood next to them in complete confusion and bowed his head at her in apology.

She had no idea what was happening and turned to Vincent who seemed to be enjoying the situation playing out before him. Rude was almost at the door with Reno in tow, when she came up to Rude and placed a hand on his arm.

"Rude, Reno didn't do much besides run in here and hide behind that booth."

She watched in surprise as Rude's ears turned bright red and before she could ask him what was wrong the two ex-Turks were out of her bar.

"That was interesting…"

Tifa turned around and placed her hands on her hips, "I hope Rude is alright."

Vincent's smirk grew on his face and he turned back to his drink. He was about to take another swing from the glass when she grabbed it out of his hands and finished it off for him. She placed the glass back down on the counter carefully.

"Now what are you smirking about?"

He eyed the glass then reached in and pulled out her Cloudy wolf ring. Putting it on the table, he turned to her and watched her carefully.

She sighed; she knew the game was up. Taking a seat next to him, she picked up the ring. The silver wolf glinted back at her as she tilted it the bar light.

"I got this made back when Cloud was still here."

Her voice cracked slightly at Cloud's name. She was grateful that Vincent waited patiently for her to continue. She caught his eye and saw understanding in them, giving him a small smile, she halfheartedly laughed.

"Sorry. This is just a reminder of—

Vincent suddenly stood and offered a hand to her. She took his hand and glanced quizzically at him as he led her to his car in the back. They both got in and Vincent drove for a short while then abruptly pulled to a stop.

The head lights provided enough illumination that she could see that they were at a familiar place. She stepped out of the car, and walked a few paces. She glanced around then down at the huge canyon that stretched out before her; they were at the highest edge of where Midgar once stood. She brushed away her hair and turned to Vincent who was leaning against the hood of his car. Glancing down at the ring she held in her hand for the whole trip, she knew she had a decision to make.

Tifa couldn't help but laugh aloud; here she was standing next to the place that had so much history to her past. The ring in her hand was also another reminder of the past. She glanced back at Vincent, he stood there between the bright head lights in shadow but his eyes glinted back at her. She stood there pondering and couldn't help but thinking that Vincent was a prime example of how his past had affected his future, but now he was different, a new future lay before him. She smiled inwardly at the thought and turned back to the task at hand.

Gazing at the ring one last time, she made up her mind and threw it.

Turning her back on the canyon, she walked purposefully towards Vincent.


	6. The Shoe Repair - Side Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a side bonus to the main story, enjoy!

Vincent was cleaning his apartment after dropping Tifa off at her place, when he noticed the pair of black stiletto heels hidden away under his bed. He pulled them out and left them on his coffee table.

When he finished his usual cleaning routine, he sat down on the couch and leaned back relaxing. He tried to ignore the shoes that were sitting innocently on his coffee table, but he could only ignore them for so long. He picked up his phone and almost finished dialing Tifa's number when he noticed that a heel on one of the shoes was missing. He frowned and hung up his phone. He knew he couldn't return her shoes in this state, so without another thought he went into his room to change.

He put his car into park and turned the ignition off. Glancing through the windshield to the shoe repair shop, he caught the eye of the shoe repair man, who smiled at him. Vincent smirked, Tomas was an old friend of his back in the day, there were many things he could have said about Tomas, but one thing he knew about him was that Tomas made a damn good shoe. Grabbing the shoe box, Vincent got out of his car and briskly walked into the shop.

It was a quaint little shop; the displays were a faded caramel color and excluded a sort of old English charm. Tomas was dressed in his usual dress shirt and bowtie, and watched with a smile as Vincent came up to him.

"Vincent Valentine, what can I do for you?"

Vincent put the shoe box onto the glass counter, and pushed it towards him. "The heel is missing."

For as long as Tomas knew Vincent, he never heard the man mention any lady friends so it was a surprise to him when he opened the lid to find a pair of heels. Tomas pushed up his round wire rimmed glasses and glanced back and forth between Vincent and the shoes.

"They do not belong to me."

Tomas chuckled and winked, "A lady friend, yes?"

When Vincent slightly hesitated a second too late, Tomas shook his head and smiled, "Come back tomorrow."

Vincent was about to pull out his wallet when the older man stopped him.

"It's on the house." Tomas said with a twinkle in his eye as he smiled back at Vincent's stoic expression.

As Vincent drove away from the shop, Tomas smiled mischievously at Achilles, his cat who was playing with a ripped scrap of red fabric...


	7. Returning The Favour

He could see the change in her person as she made her way back towards the car. The drive back to Seventh Heaven was silent. He didn't know what to say, he saw that she finally had some closure to her life with Cloud, but he felt that there was no words that would be appropriate. As he put his car into park, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

Tifa smiled inwardly then turned to Vincent as he turned off his car.

"Thank you. I really needed that."

"You're welcome."

Before he could say another word in their silence, Tifa had took off her seatbelt and leaned over and hugged him. It was rather awkward at first due to the center console between them. He tried to show that he understood her gesture by hugging her back, but it only resulted in him clumsily patting her back due to his seatbelt restraining him.

She couldn't help but laugh at his attempt of a hug. Tifa pulled away and giggled before she pressed his seatbelt release, "Here, let's try that again."

His face didn't change expression but she could see the mirth in his eyes as he raised his golden gauntlet, "You sure you want me to hug you?"

She smiled mischievously in return, "You don't bite do you, Mr. Valentine?"

He rolled his eyes but smirked in return, "I don't think you should risk it, Highwind would advise you not to, in case my fangs should appear."

The smile from her face instantly fell at this remark, "You shouldn't let Cid's insults get to you."

"They don't, and I know that he says them in jest."

She was taken aback a bit, for as long as she knew Vincent, she always thought there was an animosity between him and Cid. Back when they were a team, Tifa always noticed that the gunslinger would either walk away or ignore Cid whenever the pilot made a jab at him. She was about to comment when she felt his hand under her chin and noticed how close he was to her.

"There was never any animosity between us."

Tifa quickly drew in a breath as she stared into his eyes, "There wasn't?"

"We have a…understanding of each other."

She noticed a slight change in his voice, a deeper tone as he commented and his pupils dilated. She couldn't help but lick her lips and glance down at his lips so close to hers. Her heartbeat rose as the adrenalin coursed through her system. The gap between them was so small, she wanted for him to close the gap…

"Good night Tifa."

She watched as he moved back into his seat and replaced his seatbelt. She blinked her confusion away and laughed awkwardly, "Sorry, anyways thank you for everything, Vincent. You have a good night too!"

She stumbled out of his car and waved as he drove away. When she couldn't see the tail lights of his car, she finally walked towards the backdoor of Seventh Heaven.

Flopping down onto the bench outside, she lifted her feet up to admire the heels she was still wearing. She sighed, and then frowned as she thought back to what happened and what didn't happen in Vincent's car. Did he mean that they had an understanding with each other or was he referring to his relationship with Cid? She closed her eyes and touched her lips, and then quickly pulled them away. She shook her head and got up from the bench. Walking up to the backdoor she reached into her pocket for the keys. She pulled her hand out and then patted her other pockets, then groaned. Her keys probably fell out of her pocket when she was in Vincent's car. She didn't have her phone with her since she abruptly left Seventh Heaven with just her keys, so she began walking.

* * *

When he finally got into his apartment, Vincent made a beeline to the sink and splashed water on his face. He didn't know what possessed him to lean so close to Tifa and to lift her face, but he knew that he did it on impulse to show her that he was serious there was no bad blood between Cid and himself.

He pulled off his gauntlet and gloves then clenched his right hand. Running his hands through his hair, he pulled off his makeshift bandanna and tied his hair back in a loose ponytail. Grabbing all his clothing he went to his bedroom to shower.

He was just stepping out of the shower when he heard an urgent knocking at his door. He glanced at his clock then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. Grabbing Cerberus he walked to his door, standing to the side he unlocked it, and quickly whipped it open while pointing Cerberus at his very late visitor.

"Oh!"

Tifa stood in surprise at the sudden opening of the door. Eyes wide at the sudden entrance of Vincent, She stared at him standing on the threshold, with just a towel around his waist, dark hair dripping wet, muscles tense and the three barreled revolver pointed at her head.

Vincent lowered Cerberus and relaxed, "Tifa, what are you doing here this late?"

"I'm so sorry, it's just I think I lost my keys in your car."

Vincent suddenly laughed at the absurdity of the situation they were in and motioned for Tifa to enter.

She giggled softly and took a seat on the love seat, she tried not to stare but she couldn't help but eye Vincent as he put the safety on Cerberus. He was beautiful and graceful, but also strong and lean.

He caught her staring and she instantly turned her gaze away and blushed a painful shade of red.

He smirked then winked, "Sit tight, I'll be back."

"You tease!"

He then came back into the sitting room with only a fluffy white robe on while drying his hair with a towel. He tried his hardest not to laugh at how red Tifa was turning with his state of undress and teasing. He threw the towel in his hand over a shoulder and took a seat on the armchair, "What can I do for you, Ms. Lockhart?"

Tifa took a deep breath and breathed it out, she then turned her gaze on him with a determined look, "Is this really necessary?"

He smirked, "I'm just returning the favor."

She looked at him incredulously then the memory came back to her and she laughed. She leaned back on the sofa and kicked off her heels, "So can I get my keys?"

Vincent glanced behind him at the clock, "It's pretty late, and how are you going to get back?"

Tifa yawned and stretched her arms, "If you're not going to give me my keys then I'll just sleep here. Also, you should properly dry your hair or else you'll get sick."

"Yes mom."

Tifa grabbed one of the cushions off the sofa she was lying on and threw it at his head. She was about to sit up when the cushion hit her in the face.

"Oh no, you don't know what you just started Mr. Valentine!" She picked up the other cushions and threw them at him as he retaliated by throwing the cushions back. Tifa picked up a bunch of pillows and ran off towards his bedroom as he chased after her with his own 'ammunition'.

By the time they stopped their pillow fight, they were both lying on his bed. His hair and whole apartment was full of down feathers but he didn't care. He turned to his side and smiled a rare smile, as he brushed some loose strands of hair off of Tifa's sleeping face, before falling asleep himself.


	8. Scars

Opening her eyes from the brightness shining into the room, she stared up at the egg white ceiling and then turned to glance at her right. She did a double take and realized that Vincent was sleeping right next to her. His hair was a mess and full of white feathers, but his face was serene and peaceful. Smiling she watched him sleep for a minute then turned away embarrassedly. Carefully, she shifted her position trying not to jostle Vincent awake as she sat up and stretched her arms and yawned.

"Good morning."

"Vincent! Jeez, you scared me."

He sat up from his position on the bed and pulled a feather from her hair, "You owe me some cushions."

She then pulled a feather from his hair and twirled it in his face, "And you owe me my keys."

The both of them sat there having a stare down, Tifa waiting for Vincent to grab her keys and Vincent waiting for Tifa to get out of the bed. When neither of them moved, Tifa then blew her bangs out of her eyes and then picked up the pillow beside her. Vincent narrowed his eyes, "You already owe me six cush—

The pillow flopped down from Vincent's face and Tifa smirked. He gave her an exasperated sigh and then leaned towards her, "that was very rude."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I could always kick you out."

Tifa opened her mouth in mock shock and crossed her arms, "you wouldn't do that to me, and I'm your friend."

"Friend or not this is my home."

A shiver went down her spine as he said this in a dead serious voice. She stared back at him taken aback at the sudden change in tone in the conversation, when he suddenly chuckled at her. She couldn't believe it, he was pulling her leg.

"You Ass! I thought you were serious. Damn Vincent, you have one hell of a poker face."

He got up from the bed and adjusted the bathrobe he wore.

"Where are you going?"

He looked at her over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow, "Getting your keys."

Tifa sheepishly smiled at him, "Oh…but don't you want to sleep in?"

He ran a hand through his hair and grabbed a hair tie on the dresser top, "You're welcome to, but I have some business to attend to."

Tifa sighed and grudgingly moved from her spot on his bed. She wanted to spend the day with him just chatting but she knew she had to be the adult that she was and also get stuff done.

She quickly ran into his bedroom bathroom then shut the door behind her. Opening it again she popped her head out and stuck a tongue out at Vincent before closing the door again. Leaning her back against the door, she smiled widely and properly took in his bathroom. The other time she was here she didn't bother exploring, but now that she was here again, her curiosity got the better of her.

It was simple with a modern feel to it, beige floor tiles, glass panel shower, and white porcelain tub with a black base. His shampoo and conditioner sitting innocently on the rim of the tub, freshly laundered towels next to it. She was thoroughly impressed at how tidy he was, she was about to open the mirrored medicine cabinet when Vincent's knock on the door startled her.

"Tifa, I'm going to need to use the bathroom soon."

Chuckling nervously, she quickly freshened up and opened the door.

"All yours."

As they exchanged positions, Tifa noticed the smattering of scars across his chest from the open gap on his bathrobe. She was about to comment when he noticed and quickly shut the door. A million thoughts ran through her head, she knew about the experiments Hojo had done to him were extensive, but it was only now that it really made an impression on her. Unsure of what to do, she paced the room debating whether to apologize and ask or to apologize and just leave. Fiddling with her single silver teardrop earring, she was about to make another loop around the room when she bumped into Vincent.

"I'm so sorry, for bumping into you and for staring, I'm sor—

Vincent lowered his hand and motioned for her to sit down on the bed. Obliging him, she sat but started ringing her shirt edge.

Frowning at how anxious she was, he sat down next to her and sighed.

"Look, Vincent, I—

"Tifa, it is fine."

She looked up at him surprised, "Are you sure?"

He nodded his head slowly, then reached behind him and flipped open his phone before it started vibrating. His gaze went from her to his phone and back, when she nodded her head, he gave her an apologetic look before answering the phone.

Saved by a phone call, Tifa relaxed slightly and wanted to thank the person on the phone. She got up and ambled over to his walk in closet, taking a peek in she turned back to Vincent who caught her gaze and waved for her to go ahead and explore his closet.

Stepping in, she noted again the almost militaristic tidiness of how he hung his clothes and the shine of his shoes. Thinking back, she remembered that he did mention that was once a Turk. She was just about to walk back into the bedroom when his familiar crimson outfit caught her eye.

The leather of his outfit was worn but still in usable condition, the scrapes and dents on his golden gauntlet were not obvious before but now that she was just inches away from it, she could see the care he took in keeping his outfit in commission. Lifting the red cowl she noticed the rips and holes along the hem of it and smiled confusedly, he kept his outfit in such good condition yet why did he just leave the hem of his cowl all torn? Reaching for the hanger on which the cowl hung, she was about to pull it down when an arm brushed past her own and brought the item down.

Tifa turned around to find Vincent standing before her with her keys in his left hand and his cowl in his right. He lifted her keys up and placed them in her open palm.

"Thank you."

He nodded in reply and stood there expectantly. She didn't know what he was expecting and was starting to feel awkward standing there. She quickly stepped around him, "Thanks again."

He blocked her from leaving by stepping in front of her just a second faster than her. She tried to move away from him and again he blocked her. She stared up at him nervously; he stared back at her expressionlessly.

"I'll drive you."

"No, that won't be necessary."

The resigned expression that flitted through his eyes momentarily made her want to reach up and hug him, instead she put a sympathetic hand on his upper arm and squeezed softly. "Take care alright, I'll see you around."

* * *

She was closing up and about to switch the open sign off when she saw Vincent sitting outside on the wooden steps. Erin, one of the new waitresses waved good night to her leaving via the backdoor. She smiled and waved back to Erin and deliberated going outside to where he was waiting. The events that transpired that morning came rushing back to her, she glanced back outside seeing his back. Just looking at his back, she felt that there was an almost dejected feel to it. Audibly sighing, she went to the storeroom and grabbed her favorite wine and two glass tumblers before stepping outside. Sitting next to Vincent, she could see that he was leaning against the wooden beam that held up one side of the bar front. His eyes were closed and his face was angled in a way that made him look as if he was in contemplation of the skies. Glancing up, she watched as more stars appeared, out of the corner of her eye she spied him slowly opening his eyes.

Pulling the cork out, she poured two generous glasses of red wine, picking one up she brought it towards him, "A glass for your thoughts."

He took the glass and nodded his thanks.

It was silent between the two of them, Tifa knew there was something Vincent wanted to say, so she willed herself to be patient and relax. In her wait, she glanced at him, his pale skin in stark contrast to his midnight hair especially at this time of night. She was suddenly startled when his crimson eyes met hers.

"They are marks of my past."

He put down his glass of wine and took off his gauntlet, pulling off his gloves, he heard her soft gasp. The same healed scar tissue she saw on his chest this morning was also on his hands.

"The handiwork of a mad man."

He was about to put his gloves back on when she grasped both his hands in hers. She squeezed his hands reassuringly, "I need to show you something."

She moved away from him and lifted the hem of her shirt up, stopping just above her belly button, "I got this from Sephiroth."

Vincent turned his gaze to where her finger was pointed and saw the thin, almost imperceptible diagonal scar that ran up from her hip to what he assumed was her collar bone like a sash. She lowered her shirt and smiled an understanding smile as she caught his eye, "We all have scars. It's just a matter of how we carry them."

A breeze suddenly blew by and Tifa had to rub her arms, wearing only a white capped sleeved t-shirt and black capris pants she felt the cold of the night. She was about to head back inside when there was a flash of crimson and the feel of a heavy cloak around her shoulders. She glanced up at Vincent's nonchalant profile and burst into a wide smile. Taking the end of his cloak, she frowned at the tattered ends, "Have you considered getting this fixed or even getting a new one?"

"This was the last one."

Playfully nudging his shoulder, she took off cloak and reached for the bottle and her glass. Settling back down next to him, she wrapped herself in his cloak again and poured some more wine into both of their half empty glasses.

"Thank you."

She caught the double meaning behind his thanks and smiled back at him as he gazed up at the stars. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she joined him in star gazing until she fell asleep.

Vincent glanced down at his shoulder and quirked a smile at her.


	9. Kiss

It was strange at first for her, seeing Vincent the next morning in her kitchen making breakfast. She thought back to last night and remembered falling asleep on Vincent's shoulder; she greeted him as she grabbed a mug from a cupboard.

"Good morning Vincent."

"Good morning Tifa."

Sipping on her tea, she leaned against the kitchen counter watching him pour some pancake batter on to the hot griddle. She noticed that he had his gloves and cowl off and seemed more relaxed in her presence as she watched him. Reminiscing back to last night, she still couldn't remember coming back inside, but seeing Vincent here making breakfast for the both of them confirmed her suspicions that he brought her back in and stayed the night.

"I keep inconveniencing you, I'm sorry."

He put down the spatula in his hand and threw the kitchen towel onto his shoulder before turning away from the stove. Crossing his arms and leaning back on the kitchen counter, he looked completely calm, "It is alright. You were tired; I couldn't just leave you sleeping outside."

Bringing her mug up for another sip she watched him watch her. Tilting her head questioningly at him, he mimicked her. She put down her mug and crossed her arms, he did the same. She was about to point at the griddle when he smirked at her then grabbed the griddle and flipped the pancakes.

Smiling she went over to the cabinet and then frowned when she saw that the plates where placed higher than they usually were. She turned around to go grab the footstool, when she stopped in time before colliding with Vincent's chest.

"Hey, Vince I got it."

He gave her curious look, as he passed over two plates to her.

"Don't like Vince, then…what about Vinnie?"

He just stared at her then turned away without a word to make more pancakes.

Giggling she brought the plates to the table then picked up an end of his red cowl from the wooden chair it lay on, "You know your cloak keeps you pretty warm."

"I noticed." Said Vincent with a smile

"You should smile more."

She quickly covered her mouth and turned away from him.

He couldn't help but grin at her back. He noticed that there were times when Tifa would just blurt out things without thinking. Picking up the plate of pancakes he made, he brought them over to the table and put a hand on her back, "Tifa?"

She glanced at him shyly, "You heard that didn't you."

Trying to hide the mirth in his voice, he tried his best to not be concerned about it, "hear what?"

Tifa shoved him and quickly busied herself with the pancakes in front of her. He stared at her and inwardly smiled before taking a seat himself.

It took a good five minutes before Tifa was back to herself, "Sorry, I think I've been spending too much time with Yuffie."

"It's fine."

Putting down her tea, she watched him neatly cut into the stack of pancakes on his plate. His long piano fingers reached for the syrup and he poured a decent amount next to the cut pieces of pancake. He speared a small stack onto his fork and spread some syrup onto it with his knife. Vincent paused in his movements and Tifa looked up at him sheepishly.

He raised an eyebrow in question then back down at his plate, glancing back at her and noticing that she hadn't touched her plate yet. He picked up his pancake laden fork and brought it to her.

She grinned at him, before taking the offering he had for her. She leaned back on her chair as she swallowed and happily sighed.

Smirking he took his own bite and watched as she dug in to the breakfast he prepared for them.

Tifa mused on their relationship as she took another bite of delicious pancake. She trusted him and she could tell that he trusted her. He was becoming a really good friend, almost even her best friend.

"Say Vincent, when is your birthday?"

He paused bringing his pancake laden fork to his mouth and put it down on the plate. Frowning slightly he thought a moment.

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"October 13...I haven't celebrated it since I woke up."

Tifa instantly sobered at the thought, "Oh…You know what?"

He could see her eyes sparkle in excitement and hesitated in asking her so he just turned to her, with questioning eyes.

The Cheshire grin on her face grew as he patiently waited for her reply.

"Let's have a party for you!"

Her grin dimmed slightly at the lack of response from him, "C'mon Vinnie, it will be a small one. Just to make up for lost time. We can have it here; all you need to do is just come."

Again hesitating, he frowned a moment, then caught her eye. Seeing how eager she was to set this up, he couldn't deny her the chance, "Alright, a small party and no gifts."

Tifa squealed in delight before picking up both their plates, she was about to bring them to the sink when her feet caught the end of his long cowl.

Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Vincent's crimson eyes staring straight into hers. She then realized the following: she was lying on his cowl, Vincent with his fast reflexes caught the plates that flew from her hands, and somehow he lay on top of her with her shoulders pinning his arms.

Vincent put down the plates in his hands and brought his arms toward him. He immediately regretted it as he inadvertendly brought Tifa closer towards him. He could feel her heartbeat pickup in pace as she took in a breath.

She could see every single minute detail of his face, the long black eyelashes that framed his piercing eyes, his smooth flawless pale skin, and the warmth of his breath on her cheek.

"Are you hurt?"

Tifa gingerly lifted her right leg, as her thigh shifted against his own, Vincent inwardly cursed at prompting her to move. If her leg was there— he shifted his own and heard her gasp.

"Vincent, stop! Please, get up!"

He frowned as he caught her eye, "You're holding on too tightly."

Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and she loosened her grip as a light flush rose on her cheeks, "Oh"

He expected her to immediately apologize like usual when she suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. With her ample chest pressed against his own, he tried to reign in his hormones as her whole body shook under his own. She threw her head back in another musical peal of laugher, and he watched fascinated at her pulse point under her skin.

"We're a funny pair aren't we" She said breathlessly as her laughter subsided and left her weak but with happy tears in her eyes.

"Indeed"

Tifa moved her arms and brushed away his hair from his eyes. With that soft caress, she saw his eyes lower slightly as he unconsciously leaned into her hand.

Curious, and fired by a desire that gripped her, she brushed her lips against his, shyly. Pulling away she slowly opened her eyes and saw his eyes reflected back at her in surprise. She took a calming breath in and before she could take another breath, his hand snaked around her neck and his lips crushed into hers in a searing kiss. Instinct took over, and she opened her lips as he pushed her against the floor tiles. Her hands travelled to the crook of his neck and tangled in his hair as she moaned into his mouth. She just about made up her mind to flip him over so she could straddle him, when he broke the kiss.

He untangled himself from her and sat up, brushing a hand through his hair, taking a calming breath.

She lay on his cloak catching her breath and watched him as he sat there stunned at what they just did.

She didn't know what to say and reached for him, but he already stood and was by the sink washing the griddle. Getting up she picked up his cloak and the plates, placing the plates next to the sink. She glanced up at him as he washed the dishes.

"Vincent…"

She stared down at his cloak in her hands, when he didn't reply. She was confused yet she didn't feel any regret for kissing him. When she heard him turn off the tap and dry his hands on a kitchen towel, she glanced up at him uncertainly.

He met her gaze and they stood there for a moment. They both felt it; there was a different feel to the room and each other. He grabbed his gloves and slipped them back on. She stood silent watching him put his gauntlet on, he was about to reach for his cloak when she took a step back.

She bit her lower lip and forced herself to look him in the eye, "I don't regret it."

She could see the wonder in his eyes at this revelation. A corner of his lips quirked up and he smiled at her, "Neither do I."

They stood looking at each other before a familiar comfortable silence fell between them. Tifa smiled up at Vincent as he smiled back at her. He reached for his phone and flipped it open, turning it to face her he sighed, "He can't get anything done without me."

"I'm sure Reeve calls you because he misses the sound of your voice" said Tifa with a wink as she led him down the stairs to the door.

Opening the door, she smiled as she passed his cloak to him as he stepped outside, "The party will be next week at nine, okay?"

He put his cloak on, and caught her eye, "Okay."

She nodded then leaned forwards and kissed his cheek, "That's for Reeve."

He turned away with a smile and called back to her, "I can't promise he will appreciate it, when I give it to him."

Giggling and waving to his retreating form she went back inside when she lost sight of him in the crowd.


	10. Suspicions - Side Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another mini side story, enjoy!

Walking into the café just across from Seventh Heaven, Shelke walked past the hostess and found Yuffie seated at the table next to the windows. She had received a text just last night from the ninja to meet her at this specific café at nine in the morning. Taking a seat, Shelke watched as Yuffie finished off her sundae.

"Is this your breakfast?"

Yuffie smiled widely and nodded, "Wanna join me?"

Shelke shook her head and turned to look out the window, "So what did you want to talk about here of all places and this early?"

"Hey, I can get up early if I want to! It's about Tifa of course."

"Tifa…did something happen?!"

"No silly, it's been what, more than three months since Cloud left right."

Shelke narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Yuffie, "Don't tell me you're up to something, remember the last time you tried to set me up with someone…it didn't end well for him."

Pouting, Yuffie crossed her arms, "Hey at least it wasn't as bad as that time I asked you to help trim my hair."

Shelke bit her lip trying not to laugh at the memory. She then leaned forward towards Yuffie, "You asked me here because you want to do this properly?"

Yuffie's eyes widened with glee, "Now you get what I'm trying to do."

Frowning, Shelke then listed the possible candidates, "Well, there is: Reno, Rude, Tseng, Rufus, Reeve, and Vincent."

"You included Tseng; Elena would kill us if she heard us." Yuffie looked around her then settled back in her chair when she didn't see the blond woman. "Reeve is old, he's what 50?"

Rolling her eyes, Shelke leaned back in her chair, "He's only 39, besides if we're looking at age all of them are older than Tifa. Actually biologically speaking Vincent is actually 61."

"WHAT!? Vinnie is the same age as my dad?!" Yuffie covered her face with her hands and groaned.

Shelke softly patted Yuffie's head and sighed, "Hey, look we're the same age yet I look younger than you because I'm stuck in this body."

Yuffie glanced up with wide eyes at Shelke, "Really?! We're the same age?"

"Anyways, back on topic…who do you think would match well…with…her?"

Yuffie turned to what caught Shelke's attention outside and went silent with shock. The two of them watched as Vincent stepped outside of Seventh Heaven putting on his cloak that Tifa handed to him. They both turned to each other and Yuffie voiced out what Shelke was thinking, "You don't think they're together do you?"

Both of them turned back to watch as Tifa kissed Vincent's cheek. Once Vincent left the area and Tifa returned back into Seventh Heaven. The two sat back down on their seats, silent for a moment.

Catching each other's eyes, they both voiced their surprise, "No way!"


	11. Confusion

Seventh Heaven was closed for the night, invitations for the party were sent and everyone but Barrett and the kids were coming. Tifa had spent the morning cleaning up her place and the bar. She just put in the order for pizzas and was about to go get her shoes when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

" _Tifa, it's me Yuffie!"_

"Hi, what's up?"

" _Shelke and I are at the door—_

"Oh hold on." She ran down the steps and opened the door, hanging up her phone she looked at Shelke and Yuffie up and down. "You both look great! Thanks for coming!"

Yuffie and Shelke looked at each other and then at Tifa. Compared to the two of them Tifa looked like she just put on whatever was comfortable. Shelke was dressed in a simple blush colored dress complete with a skinny bow belt. Yuffie had on a navy blue halter dress with a black skinny tie around her neck.

"Tifa is this, what you're wearing?" Yuffie lifted the hem of her dress and frowned.

She glanced down at her black dress and gave her a confused look, "Yes?"

Shelke then grabbed Tifa's hand and began pulling her towards the stairs, "Good thing we came really early then."

"Wait, guys it's just a _little_ party for Vincent."

Yuffie and Shelke looked at each other at the mention of Vincent's name and winked at each other. Shelke continued pulling Tifa towards the stairs as she motioned to Yuffie to help her, "Exactly, you got to dress the part as hostess Tifa."

"You want me to wear this?" Tifa glanced between Shelke, Yuffie, and the dress. It was an old dress of hers that she hadn't worn in ages. Deep crimson red, v-cut front, it was a dress that seemed a little too fancy for a small party with pizza.

Both Shelke and Yuffie nodded, they put the dress and a pair of heels in Tifa's hands, then shoved her towards her bedroom bathroom.

Audibly sighing, Tifa did as directed, she knew that if she didn't she wouldn't hear the end of it from Yuffie. Changing into the dress, she was pleasantly surprised when she found that it still fit. Seeing the very same shoes that Vincent fixed for her on the floor next to her she smiled widely.

"Hey, Tifa I'll be downstairs everyone is here, and don't rush. I'll take care of it. Yuffie will make sure you are ready."

Opening the door, Tifa took a step out and smiled shyly at Yuffie who bounded over to her with a huge toothy grin, "Perfect! Vincent will be blown away!"

"What do you mean?"

Yuffie couldn't believe her ears, Tifa was playing coy now. She crossed her arms and gave Tifa a knowing stare, "You're going out with Vince right?"

Taken aback, Tifa flushed briefly before frowning at her, "What?! No, we're just friends…Nothing more nothing less."

"Riiiight, well c'mon everyone's waiting."

* * *

She couldn't believe her eyes the moment she stepped down into the bar. Completely different from what she imagined this small party was to be, the bar top had lit candles of varying heights, each corner of the bar floor was decorated with bunches of gold star shaped balloons and metallic red crescent moon shaped balloons, and the tables were rearranged so that an area was clear for dancing. She glanced around for the guest of honor and found him sitting on his own at the bar. As she made her way towards him, she smiled and tried to hide the surprise at seeing him with his long hair tied back, dressed in a fitted three piece suit with crimson tie.

"Hello stranger."

He glanced up at her through his long bangs, "Can I offer you a drink?"

"That's my line, sorry, if I'd known that Yuffie and company were going to highjack this party I—

"It's fine." Vincent stood and gave her a reassuring smile before reaching over the bar to grab drinks for the both of them.

* * *

Yuffie turned to Shera, Shelke, and Elena and whispered conspiratorially, "So, what do you think?"

After Yuffie had brought Shera and Elena up to date with what they saw last week, she was now conferring to see if they agreed with her. They were just about to come to an agreement when Cid took a seat next to Shera.

"Tifa and Sunshine together, you're joking right?"

The group of them glanced over at Tifa who was laughing at something Vincent had said as he smiled at her. They all turned back to each other with a mix of amusement and wonder on their faces.

Reeve chuckled and leaned into the group at the table, "They're in love with each other and they don't know it."

Cid was about to make a rude retort when Shera gave him a look and he shut his mouth as Tifa came towards them.

"What's the meeting about?" Tifa glanced around the table at each one of them with a smile. Something was going on; she knew from that guilty expression on Yuffie's face that the group of them had a burning question for her.

Crossing her arms, she caught each of their eyes for a minute before she was interrupted with a tap on the shoulder. She turned around and was surprised to see that it was Rude who tapped her shoulder. The ex-Turk nervously pushed up his tinted shades as he cleared his throat.

"Ms. Lockhart, may I have this dance."

Pleasantly surprised, she smiled briefly before leaning in to him, "I'd love to."

The red flush on his neck climbed as he turned panicked to Reno who stood by the ready at the stereo. Reno made a thumbs-up sign and Rude turned back to Tifa who was trying not to giggle. He offered a hand for Tifa to take and led her to the cleared area, while Reno put on the music.

* * *

After dancing several rounds with everyone in the room except for Vincent, she sat down at the bar out of breath and glanced around the room finding that mostly everyone had gone home. It was late and Reeve, Cid and Shera had already said their goodbyes and left early. Reno, Rude and Elena were getting up from their seats and waved to Tifa as they exited the bar.

"Have fun?"

She turned to Vincent and smiled, "Yes, did _you_ have fun?"

He turned from his spot at the bar and glanced around the room, "I had my moments from here."

Tifa frowned then took his glass from his hand and finished the contents. Slightly wincing from the drink she caught his amused expression and stuck out a tongue, "C'mon you owe me a dance."

She pulled him up from his seat and dragged him over to dancing area, just as a slow song was played. She stopped in her tracks and glanced nervously up at him, would he dance with her? He saw the uncertainty in her and then offered her his hand. Tifa smiled up at him appreciatively; he placed a hand on her lower back and grasped her hand. He took a step to the side and they waltzed in tune to the song.

"I'm sorry; I don't know how to formally dance." She said after stepping on his shoe.

He glanced down at her chewing on her lip and smirked, "Just follow my lead."

He spun her around once the song finished. They both stood there staring into each other's eyes. She adjusted his tie with a smile, "Thank you for coming."

He leaned his head forward so that his hair brushed her forehead, his voice but a low whisper, "Thank you for having me."

Standing so close to him, she could feel his warmth and see his crimson eyes peer at her intently as if he was trying to read her expressions. She reached up and brushed his hair from his face, leaning forward she closed the gap between them with a soft kiss. Pulling away, her heart leapt at the smile that appeared on his lips. Urged on with the positive response she abruptly pressed her lips to his and pulled his head forward to deepen the kiss. Surprised, and slightly unbalanced from the force of her kiss, he leaned further down and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Hoisting her up so that they were level, she pulled away from his kiss with a smile, "Happy birthday…"

He lowered her back down and noticed the box in his pocket. Pulling it out he glanced at her smiling face questioningly, "Didn't I say no gifts."

Tifa momentarily glanced down on the floor but then caught his eye, "It's not really a gift, just open it."

She watched as he deliberately took his time opening it. Pursing her lips she crossed her arms and frowned at the sly smile he gave her. He untied the red ribbon and slowly eased the box open, pulling up the silver chain; he looked at his old Cerberus charm with surprise.

"After you fought Omega, I found it in the rubble." She then pointed at the end of the chain, "I just got the chain fixed, and you can attach it back on your gun."

She couldn't read the expression on his face as he put the charm back into the box and pocketed it. Unsure of what to do or say, she walked over to the bar and scanned the calendar on the wall opposite, "I guess the kids won't be staying this summer."

Turning around she found Vincent back at the bar fiddling with the Cerberus charm. She smiled then glanced over at the table in the corner and saw just about out of her view a black skinny tie and a pink bow belt on the table.

"They're out cold."

Tifa stared at Vincent in surprise at his statement. She peeked around the wall and saw Yuffie and Shelke slumped in a booth fast asleep.

Sighing, Tifa checked the clock on the wall and gave him a sad smile, "We should call it a night."

Without a word, he took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. While Tifa hustled Yuffie and Shelke up the stairs to the kids' room, Vincent cleaned up the mess from the party. By the time Tifa came back down stairs; Vincent was already rinsing the plates.

She kicked off her heels and climbed onto the bar top, watching as Vincent dug his hands into the soapy water. She, tilted her head and smiled, he looked younger with his black waistcoat, red tie, and rolled up sleeves. She leaned forwards and loosened his tie, "Vincent, what is this between us?"

She didn't know what to call their relationship. Were they friends or closer than friends? Vincent was like a fixture in her life now, he was there as a friend yet the last woman he loved, he literally died for, and that she knew was something a person doesn't just easily get over no matter how long ago it was. She was just beginning understand why Vincent isolated himself from others.

"It's not out of loneliness."

She quickly caught his eye, "How—

"You're very easy to read."

He put the last dish in the washer and rinsed his hands. Drying his hands he made his way around to sit at the bar next to her. He didn't know how to explain their relationship, the past months he spent around her, let him relax and yet he knew with his immortality, his life was to be a lonely one. He couldn't keep fooling himself that he could live normally, yet there was something about her that drew him towards her.

"I don't know what this is. I'm not very good at _this_."

She smiled softly and placed a comforting hand on top of his, "Neither am I."


	12. Family

She was on her way back from grocery shopping, clutching the shopping and searching her bag for her keys. Her fingers finally met the metal of her keys and she pulled them out but one of the bags in her arms started falling.

Letting out a breath, she smiled at Vincent and shoved the other bags in her arms to his, "Thanks."

Tifa opened the door and Vincent followed her upstairs to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and began loading it with the food he was handing to her. When they were done, she looked at what he had left on the table, eggs, bread, and butter. Smiling at him, he motioned with his head for her to go check on Yuffie and Shelke.

After the cleanup of the party last night, Tifa had insisted that Vincent stay over again and he had obliged but was not on her couch when she woke up. She had gone grocery shopping knowing that Yuffie and Shelke who were sleeping in the kids' room wouldn't be awake until noon.

Peeking into the room, she saw the two teens soundly asleep on the beds. As she made her way back to the kitchen, she saw Vincent putting the finishing touches on the eggs on toast.

Tiptoeing behind him, she reached out to cover his eyes, when he abruptly turned around and grasped her hands. Relaxing his grip when he realized who it was, he audibly sighed.

"Sorry?"

"No, I should apologize."

Tifa shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the breakfast he prepared, "You're really hard to surprise you know, but that's what I like about you."

Vincent's eyes widened slightly at her statement and he turned away from her to pour some hot water into a mug.

Between bites of egg and toast, she smiled at him, "This is delicious!"

He nodded at her in thanks, and handed her a mug of earl grey tea.

"Have you considered opening a restaurant?"

Scoffing, he swallowed his bite of toast and egg, "I'm not a chef."

Tifa was about to respond when her phone started ringing, she put down her slice of toast, and answered the phone. After a moment of silence, she closed her phone and smiled at Vincent, "Barret is dropping the kids off here for a day. He couldn't find another sitter."

He nodded in comprehension and continued chewing on his breakfast, as she finished off her toast and made her way down to the bar to wait for Barret.

* * *

"Tifa, boy is it good to see you! Thanks again for this." Barret turned to Denzel and Marlene both dressed in their school uniforms and hugged the both of them. "You two behave while I'm gone."

Tifa covered the smile on her lips with a hand, as Denzel rolled his eyes at Barret who fussed with Marlene's blazer jacket.

Barret said his last good byes and hollered that he'd be back to pick them up at nine. Tifa then ushered the kids into the kitchen and smiled when she saw that Vincent had made eggs on toast for them.

"Vincent!" Marlene ran up to him and reached out to give him a hug. Vincent obliged and kneeled so that she could circle her arms around his neck.

As Denzel took a seat at the table, Vincent carried Marlene to the table and set her down, just as Tifa put a plate of toast and egg in front of them.

"Eat up, and remember to thank Vincent."

Between mouthfuls of toast and egg, both Denzel and Marlene muffled out a "Thank you Vincent".

Tifa turned back to the kitchen to find Vincent back at the sink already starting on the dishes. She sighed and smiled, walking over to the silent man she nudged him with her shoulder.

"Do you have any plans today?"

"No, Reeve hasn't contacted me in a while."

The smile on her face grew, "Great, how about you stick around—

"Tifa is Cloud home?"

Vincent watched as Tifa's bright cheerful eyes slowly dim and closed as she swallowed a breath and turned to address Denzel's question. He inwardly sighed as he recalled that no one, not even Barret had the heart to tell Denzel that Cloud wasn't coming back. He knew the boy looked up to Cloud like a father, and for Tifa to have to break the news to him after so long trying to forget him, there was going to be tears.

Tifa glanced back at Vincent with a panicked look then noticed Marlene suddenly grasping Denzel's hand.

"Marlene, what do you want?"

Tifa smiled appreciatively at the Marlene and kneeled at level with Denzel, "Denzel…Cloud left."

"Yeah, so what time will he be back?"

The smile fell from her face, as she hoped that Denzel would understand what she meant, "No, he's not coming back. Ever."

She watched as Denzel stared silently back at her then glanced at Vincent.

"Is that why he's here?"

Tifa winced and shook her head, "Denzel…it's not like that."

She could see the angry tears forming in his eyes and watched him tremble as he tried to keep calm. Before she could reach out and stop him, Denzel shook off Marlene's hand and stood.

"Why didn't you stop him from leaving, aren't we a family?"

Tifa tried to reach out and brush away Denzel's bangs, but he moved his head away, "I tried, sweetheart."

"That's not good enough."

Without waiting for Tifa to reply, Denzel tore down the hall and ran out of the bar.

Vincent glanced down at Tifa, who was still on the floor as if frozen to the spot. Marlene glanced up worriedly at Vincent then got off her chair and placed a comforting hand on Tifa's back.

Vincent gave a nod to Marlene who nodded back at him with a determined face; he gave an appreciative smile at the girl and ran after Denzel. He knew he could rely on Marlene to look after Tifa; the girl was wise beyond her years.

As he rounded the corner of the block, Vincent thought back to the stricken expression on Tifa's face and then shook his head. He needed to focus on the task at hand, find Denzel before he got himself into trouble.


	13. Home

The moment Vincent left Seventh Heaven, Tifa finally snapped back from her shock. She slowly stood and nonchalantly patted Marlene's head before sitting down on a chair. Marlene took her seat again and finished off her egg on toast with worried glances between bites at Tifa.

By the time Vincent tracked down Denzel to Aerith's church it was already past noon. In his hands he carried a packed sandwich and juice he purchased along the way, knowing that the boy would be hungry after running off for so long. He quietly stepped past the threshold of the church careful to make sure he didn't startle the boy, who was crouched near the edge of the pool of water.

"Go away"

Vincent smirked at Denzel's back; the boy was pretty perceptive when he wanted to be. He kneeled and placed the sandwich and juice next to him and started making his way out of the church.

"Why did Cloud leave?"

Vincent stopped in his tracks and turned back around, he took a moment to consider how he should reply when he saw Denzel turn around and face him with a stoic face. He knew now wasn't the time to act like a guardian to the boy so he opted for honesty.

"I honestly don't know. All I know is that Tifa was left to clean up the pieces."

* * *

"Vincent will find Denzel, I know he will."

Tifa gave Marlene a sad smile and sighed, before picking up the plates and bringing them to the sink. She glanced back at Marlene who smiled hopefully back at her and nodded in agreement. While Marlene went to her room, Tifa stood at the sink staring down at the stack of plates, she was mentally replaying Denzel's words over and over in her head. She clenched her fists and shook her head, now wasn't the time to cry over Cloud leaving. They were still a family no matter that Cloud left; she put on a determined face and immediately dug into the sink to start rinsing the plates.

"Um…Tifa why is Yuffie and Shelke in my room?"

Tifa turned from putting the last plate into the machine and frowned, "They're there?"

Marlene nodded

She thought for a moment, then it dawned on her, "Oh, sorry about that we had a bit of a party for Vincent last night."

"Can I draw something for Vincent?"

At the thought of Vincent receiving a gift from Marlene, Tifa smiled brightly, "Of course, you go grab some paper from Clou—I mean from the office, I'll get the markers for you."

* * *

"I'm sorry for blaming you. I thought you and Tifa were you know."

Vincent paused in mid-throw at Denzel's apology and admittance, "You thought I came between Tifa and Cloud?"

He watched as the boy turned an alarming shade of red then threw a piece of broken wood into the pool, "Yeah"

Vincent threw the stone in his hands and watched as it skipped across the pool of water. He turned to Denzel who watched in awe at the stone as it made its final skip before sinking into the water, "You're still a family, as long as you feel at home with someone, that is your family."

Denzel looked thoughtfully back at Vincent and nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

Tifa just placed the bowl of salad on the table when she heard two sets of steps coming up the stairs from the bar. It was after five and with Vincent and Denzel still out, Tifa and Marlene had spent the day together. Yuffie and Shelke had left at around noon so Tifa and Marlene had gone shopping to make lasagna for dinner. Tifa turned around just as Denzel thrusted a bouquet of yellow and white lilies toward her.

"I'm sorry Tifa, for running away and everything."

With a warm smile Tifa kneeled and took the lilies from him, "All is forgiven."

She gave him a hug and glanced up at Vincent and mouthed thank you, in which he gave her a small smile to indicate it, was no problem.

Dinner that night was a warm affair, smiles and laughter punctuated with the clatter of utensils on plates. It was around nine fifteen when Barret made his way into the kitchen and pausing in surprise to see Vincent seated on a sofa chatting quietly with Marlene on his lap. Tifa had just put the last plate into the cupboard when she looked up and saw Barret smiling warmly at Vincent and Marlene.

Barret leaned against the counter and nodded towards Vincent, "So Vincent has been coming by huh?"

Tifa sighed, "What are you up to now Barret?"

He put up a hand in defense, "Nothing, he's pretty good with the kids, too bad he doesn't have the talent for adults."

"I heard that."

Both Tifa and Barret glanced over in surprise at Vincent as he lifted Marlene off his lap and placed her onto the sofa. He softly patted her head then walked over to Barret with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey I'm just saying you should talk more with others."

Tifa sniggered at Barret cowering next to her as Vincent stepped menacingly closer towards him.

Vincent stopped in his tracks and leaned down, "Hello Barret."

Tifa slapped a dish towel against Vincent as he mischievously smiled at her.

"Okay enough teasing, Barret you probably would want to start heading back to Kalm, the mountain trail is pretty hard to drive through at night."

When Barret left with both of the kids asleep in his truck, Tifa sighed and turned to find Vincent behind the bar mixing a drink. She smiled appreciatively as he motioned for her to take a seat.

"Thanks, so how do you like the drawing Marlene did?"

He quirked an eyebrow and smirk at her and she giggled.

After a pause, she looked up at Vincent and caught his gaze as he pushed a cocktail towards her, "Thank you for bringing Denzel back."

He nodded and motioned for her to finish the cocktail, "Your welcome, I found him at Aerith's church."

She immediately sat up and then sank back down on her seat, "I should have known he'd go there to find Cloud…it really shook me when he said it wasn't good enough…I just…."

Vincent watched her sigh deeply and run her hands through her hair, he then came around the bar and offered her his hand, "Come, I think we'll need something stronger for this conversation."


	14. Physical

"Hit me"

Tifa stared back at Vincent with wide eyes, "What?"

He motioned with his gloved hand at his face, "Hit me"

She scanned his face to see if he was joking, noting the daring glint in his eyes, she pulled back her arm and punched him.

He didn't flinch but lightly rubbed his chin, "I know you can hit harder than that"

She didn't know what he was trying to get at but when they had left Seventh Heaven, he had driven the two of them to his place. Without saying a word he led her to the private gym, one wall was red bricked while the wall opposite had three panels of mirror. A thick throwing mat was placed near the brick wall leaving space for guests to stretch and warm up on the hardwood floor space.

She eyed him again, then pulled out her gloves from her back pocket and put them on. Circling him, she watched him follow her with his eyes. Fainting left she struck quickly and in succession. He deftly side stepped her kick and blocked her punch.

"That's more like it." Vincent put down his arm and tilted his head slightly so she could see that he was genuinely smiling, before quickly grasping the scruff of her leather top and flipping her onto the mat.

Landing on her back with the wind knocked out of her, she smirked up at him as he bent down and offered her his hand. Without warning she grasped his hand and pulled down while she kicked forward on his shin causing him to lose balance and fall forward. Rolling out from under him as he fell, she straddled his torso and pulled him up so that she could see the surprise on his face.

"Nice try"

She watched in bewilderment as the edges of his lips curved up in a smirk as he grasped her wrists and flipped them around. His red cowl floated down around them and suddenly Tifa felt as if they had been in a similar position before. In the intimate confine of his cowl, her heart pounding as she caught her breath she raised a hand to his face; noticing something that caught his attention, she followed his gaze and saw five evenly spaced cuts running diagonal from her wrist to elbow.

"It's just a scratch"

He pursed his lips before frowning at her cavalier attitude and got up, "I'm sorry"

Tifa sighed; she knew from the frown on his face that it would be pointless to try to get him to continue the bout. Standing up with her hands on her hips, she gave him a disappointed look, "You promised me a drink."

Vincent smirked and without turning back to her, he walked to the door, "follow me"

* * *

"What is in this stuff?"

Vincent took the glass out of her hand and placed it carefully on the coffee table. Tifa had at least five glasses and he was worried it was a bit much. They had returned to his place and while Vincent changed into a pair of black drawstring pajama bottoms and a snug white t-shirt, Tifa sat comfortably in the sitting room sipping on the wine that he had left on the coffee table for her. With the curtains in the room closed the only source of light came from the single stand up lamp in the corner by the door. The two of them sat in the relative dark enjoying each other's company and the wine.

"It's a vintage before your time."

She had found her glass again and downed the rest of it before getting on her feet and pushing aside the coffee table to the wall. He watched as she made enough space in his sitting room that he could fully see the white faux fur throw rug. She sat down on the rug and heavily sighed, "Do you think Denzel will be okay, now that Cloud is gone?"

He caught the slight hesitation in her voice when she said Cloud's name, getting up from the sofa he sat down next to her, "He will be fine, he seemed to have the idea that I somehow came between the two of you."

She blinked back up at him with wide eyes, "You're joking"

She watched as he shook his head in amusement. They both sat in silence for a while and listened to the clock tick, sipping on the wine and enjoying a shared pause in conversation. She scooted towards him, reached for his glass of wine and leaned her head on his shoulder, "I feel so, so…why did he leave?"

Vincent blinked in surprise at her comment; he caught her surprised gaze and thought a moment, "…I don't think he left because of you, he probably left for his own convictions."

Tifa immediately sat up and stared back at him. She was about to speak when he got up from the floor and made his way to his bedroom. With his back to her he called out, "Tifa, you're beautiful, anyone would be an idiot to not say so, don't beat yourself up about something you had no control over."

She blushed and turned away from him as he came back into the room with a small first aid kit, "…Thank you, but really I'm not. Flattery only goes so far you know. You probably had too much of this wine."

Vincent looked at his empty glass, then back at her and quirked a smile, "Even if I hadn't, you are beautiful."

Again she flushed bright red before falling silent unable to agree or disagree to his statement; she unzipped her black leather top and threw it onto one of the sofas before sitting back down next to him in her shorts and white tank top. Another moment of silence fell between them; she played with a strand of his rug before turning to see him watching her intently. She silently watched as he slowly reached for her hand and carefully traced the cuts on her forearm.

"Does it hurt?"

She blinked back at him in surprise at the worry in his voice, his fingers gingerly touching the thin cuts. She silently shook her head and he gave a small nod as he rummaged in the first aid kit for disinfectant.

Watching him carefully soak a bit of gauze with disinfectant, she reached out and brushed aside his bangs. He glanced up and met her eyes, "this will sting."

Tifa could see the reflection of her dilated eyes in his, before he could clean her arm; she closed the distance between them and captured his lips. She cupped his face as he returned her kiss, as he dropped the gauze in his fingers and brushed his hands up her shoulders and brought her closer towards him. Her hands found the soft hair at the base of his neck and she tugged gently as he trailed open mouthed kisses down her neck. Leaning into his ministrations, she felt his fingers ghost along the hem of her top before she pulled away from his kiss and pulled her top off. His hand reached out and again he pulled her close and kissed her feverously before she straddled him, each leg on either side of his waist. Grinding her hips against his, she heard him groan softly before she felt his hands grip her waist to keep her still.

"Tifa…I- we shouldn't…"

Smirking, she leaned forward and kissed a line to his ear, before grinding her hips again breathlessly saying his name. Slipping her hands under his snug t-shirt and feeling the defined muscles under her hands shiver at her touch. He pulled away and gripped her hands.

With a shuddering breath, he caught his lust filled gaze reflected in her half lidded eyes, "Tifa, I can't promise you anything."

He watched mildly shocked at how fast her expression changed. Her eyes widened and she leaned away from him, "I know, but can you just give me this night?"

Tifa knew the moment she said those words, she had just crossed the unspoken line between their friendship. Biting her lip, she glanced up from under her bangs to gauge his reaction.

Taken aback by her words, Vincent fell silent as his heavy breathing subsided. He could feel it, the heaviness of the room, the ticking of the clock, the pounding of her heartbeat in his hands as he held her wrists. He could feel her about to shift her position on his lap and before he could rationalize his actions he pulled her in and captured her lips, surprising her and himself.

The moment of heaviness lifted and Tifa resumed her curious exploration of his body. Smiling into his kiss and tangling her fingers in his silky hair. She felt him groan deeply as she sucked on a sensitive spot near his collar bone. She traced his scars beneath his shirt before pulling it off of him with his help, down to the hem of his pants, and then pushed him down onto the rug, kissing and licking a trail down his torso. She was about to slip her hands down his pants when he stopped her, sat back up and suddenly flipped her onto her back before removing the rest of his clothing.

Vincent could see her kiss swollen lips mouthing his name. Sliding his hands down her form, he captured her lips and found her hands helping his remove the last of her clothing. Cupping one of her breasts, he teased at her nipple while massaging the other. She arched up into him; she couldn't take his teasing anymore and wrapped her legs around his waist, flipping him onto his back.

She caught his eyes and saw the want and need for her. He raked a hand through her hair and pulled her in for another searing kiss as if telling her that he wanted this as much as she did. She pulled herself up, giving him a silent indication to sit up and he did so, leaning back against the sofa, watching her intently as she swept up her hair and bit her lip before lowering herself onto him. Holding herself still, she took a breath to adjust to the sensation of him beneath her, slowly shifting her hips, she rocked forward. She heard him growl when she picked up the pace and grinded her hips into his.

Gasping a breath as he brought his hips forward to meet hers as she pulled away, but it wasn't enough, she wanted more, she moaned out his name, "Vincent…"

That was all it took, he gripped her hips tightly and angled himself as he roughly thrusted into her. Her fingers gripped at his hair, the pain adding to the pleasure as her back arched back to meet his hips, their slick bodies slamming against each other. She could feel that she was close, with each thrust hitting deeper as she roughly rode him; she pulled him in for a sloppy kiss before she felt her muscles tighten around him and his grip on her hips tightened painfully before she came screaming and she felt his release as he twitched and shuddered beneath her.

Languidly reaching for him as she saw the strain in his neck as he came down from his high, she brushed aside his soaked hair. She couldn't believe how amazing that was. His breath in her ear, she heard her name.

"…you're bleeding."

She raised the arm with the cuts up at eye level and squinted in the dark, rivulets of blood flowed down her arm. Vincent broke away from her and before she could protest he carried her to the bathroom straight to the tub.

She sat in the tub silently with her bleeding arm outstretched and watched with amusement as Vincent pulled medical supplies out of the medicine cabinet while completely naked in front of her. He carefully dabbed at her arm with a wet towel, before wrapping her arm with a roll of gauze.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the edge of sunlight creep through the open bathroom door. She sat in contemplation as he neatly tied off the end of gauze, they just had sex, and she couldn't help but overthink the situation. Was this a one-time thing? Was this going to change everything between them? Was it as good for him as it was for her?

"…shower?"

She smiled at the hint of mischief in his question, got up from the tub and sauntered over to him next to the prepared shower. Grasping his chin, she pulled him down for a quick kiss, "I thought you'd never ask…"


	15. Tangible

Opening his eyes to the sound of birds chirping outside, Vincent moved to stretch his arms but paused midway and glanced down to his torso. Tifa was sound asleep and pressed against his arm; he smiled as she rolled away from him and snuggled into the pillow. He carefully got out of the bed and immediately felt chilly realizing that he was naked. Padding his way to the bathroom, he yawned and tried to recall last night's activities.

Seeing the box of his medical supplies out on the sink counter, Vincent's eyes widened as the memories of last night's exertions played back. Gritting his teeth to keep himself from moaning at the memory of Tifa on top of him riding out her orgasm, he quickly splashed cold water on his face and gripped the edge of the sink as memories of the two of them in the shower replayed.

* * *

Tifa rolled to her side and frowned, the warmth that was next to her before was gone. She turned again looking for the source of warmth and finally opened her eyes when she couldn't find it. Rubbing her eyes, she stretched and heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom. Sitting up in the bed, she glanced down realizing why she felt a chill, she was naked and lying in Vincent's bed, grasping the bed sheet and wrapping it around herself she tip toed past the open bathroom door, hoping that she could sneak away.

"Good Morning"

She comically paused in mid-step before turning around to face him, "G-good morning Vincent"

She was glad that he had on his bathrobe, clutching the bed sheet tightly and quickly glancing down making sure she was covered before meeting his eyes, nervously giggling, she watched as he approached her with a blank look on his face.

"…about last night"

He quirked his head to the side while still approaching her as she continued to back away from him, "Last night…hmm?"

She quickly glanced to her sides and realized she had backed herself into his bookshelf, glancing up at him, she felt nervous and excited with his proximity. She was about to speak out when he took a step forward and crushed his lips into hers. She opened her mouth about to protest when he slipped his tongue into hers as he pressed her against the books, the passion in his kiss searing her lips making her want more.

He pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, "Last night…."

She glanced up at him, what was he going to say, it was a mistake? He was sorry? Was he going to make the excuse of the alcohol getting the better of them? She couldn't bear the thought of him making excuses. "Vincent…"

He heard the crack in her voice when she said his name. He saw the confusion in her eyes, the way she said his name hurt more than he would have thought before. He didn't know what to make of things now. He gingerly tipped her face up and met her conflicted and worried eyes.

"Are you hurt?"

Tifa's eyes widened in confusion for a split second processing his question, was he asking about her arm? Or was it because of the sex? She decided it was a mix of both, from the whirlpool of emotions that flashed in his eyes. She realized in this moment, he wasn't so hard to read anymore, he wasn't the cold brooding assassin he thought himself to be. She couldn't help but smile at this nervous almost childlike side of Vincent before her. Her posture relaxed, as she decided on a reply, "I'm good."

A moment of silence passed as they stood there, Tifa contemplating what she should do to not make the situation even more awkward than it already seemed and Vincent watching her reaction to think of the appropriate thing to do or say.

Just as she was about to speak up, he closed the distance between them again, this time running his hands up her bare shoulders and cupping her face carefully before kissing a trail down to her collar bone. The smoking embers of her libido that she struggled to smother only moments ago where now stoked to roaring flames, from each moment her skin touched his. She leaned forward giving him further access to her throat and dropping the bed sheet from her hands to loosen the bathrobe he was wearing. Seeing her completely naked in the morning light, he deftly lifted and roughly pushed her against the bookshelf as he entered her.

With so little foreplay, it was rough, but the same pooling of heat started again. She curled a leg around his waist and reached above, gripping the edge of the shelf allowing him some leverage as he thrusted into her. With one hand on the shelf and the other gripping the back of his head, she tilted her head back as he pulled away and snapped his hips forward.

The tugging of his hair only added fuel to the fire, as he watched her tilt her head back moaning her pleasure. She vainly tried to keep pace with him but her movements were restricted, so she rocked her hips forward as he thrusted into her. His bathrobe swaying with his movements, her knuckles turning white from gripping the shelf, her breasts bouncing along with each thrust he made. Her free hand reached above her to grip the shelf and her leg joined her other wrapping around his waist. While still sheathed in her, he took a step back and she released her grip from the shelf and grasped his head and kissed him deeply as he pivoted and dropped her onto the bed.

Before she could protest, he hovered over her, lidded eyes smoldering with unchecked lust. He pulled her forward and spread her legs, thrusting two fingers into her without warning, he heard her breathy gasp. She moaned deeply and gripped the edge of the bed in both hands as he entered her again.

* * *

Tifa turned to her side and opened her eyes, glancing at the unfamiliar clock on the bedside table, her eyes widened in shock. It was already half past six in the evening; she couldn't believe that they were going at it for practically the whole day, she felt sore, yet not uncomfortably so. Propping herself up, she chewed on her bottom lip as she watched Vincent sleep, she knew she had to get going to open up Seventh. As carefully as she could without jostling him awake, she got out of the bed and tip-toed out of the bedroom.

On her walk back to Seventh, she thought back to mental image of Vincent stalking towards her like a panther hunting its prey. Just that image was enough to make her turn a very painful shade of red, she didn't know what she'd say to him to get some clarity with the situation, but she couldn't help but giggle as she thought about how relaxed he looked as he slept.


	16. Wishful

It was a minute until quarter to midnight.

Tifa had already cleaned the dirty glasses and closed Seventh Heaven up early for the night. She was now sitting on a bar stool absentmindedly swirling a glass of whiskey. Slightly anxious to keep her hands busy, she reached for her single tear-drop earring but felt nothing on her left ear. She mulled it over in her head before coming to the conclusion that she either left it at Vincent's place or she forgot to put it on that morning.

The silence in the bar was suddenly punctuated by the tick of the clock as the minute hand landed at a quarter to midnight. She smiled brightly and turned to the door, expecting to see the familiar crimson cowl and golden gauntlet.

Another minute passed and another, until her smile dropped and she glanced at the clock, five minutes had passed yet still no sign of him. She frowned at the amber liquid in her glass; Vincent always came at the same time, not a minute early or late. She couldn't help but immediately conclude that it was because they slept with each other, was the reason why he wasn't here now. She laughed bitterly as the pessimistic part of her knew this would happen.

Just as she downed the rest of the whiskey and placed the glass on the counter a light tap was heard outside. She quickly turned around with a bright smile and her smile dimmed slightly but she still kept it on as she got up and opened the door for her guest.

"Good evening, Tifa"

"Reeve, it has been a while. Come in"

Reeve gave Tifa a once over, noting the underlying disappointment in her warm smile. He chuckled softly as she led him over to the bar with so much forced enthusiasm.

As friendly as Reeve was to Tifa, she still felt like she barely knew the man that hid behind the feline puppet after all these years. She watched as he took a seat on a stool and carefully placed his clasped hands on the bar top.

"So…what would you like? It's on the house."

"He hasn't come yet."

Taken aback by his statement, Tifa quickly grabbed her empty glass, turned her back to him and began rinsing it.

She heard a soft sigh from behind her and she turned off the tap, "Not yet…."

"He hasn't come in like usual. I thought you might know where he is."

She quickly turned around almost giving herself whiplash at the speed she moved. She thought a moment before commenting.

"Reeve, did you _know_ this would happen? Did you _plan_ for this?"

The older man peered back at her as if weighing his options. She almost wanted to laugh out loud just to break the sudden silence between them. She couldn't stand it anymore and began unloading the dish washer, trying to distract herself from thinking too hard about what he would say. She silently shook her head and began stacking the slightly wet glasses on a dry rag.

"Yes and no"

Tifa stopped and stared at Reeve, he smiled sheepishly in reply.

"Yes, because I felt that deep down Vincent was looking for something, but no, because I didn't expect him to turn to you for it. By my nudging him to visit you that many months ago, I was only thinking he would visit that one time."

Tifa relaxed when Reeve confessed his part in this situation. With this news it confused her even more. Vincent, despite all appearances and assumptions that she could understand about him, there was more to him than she thought or knew.

"Are you sure he's not just away on some sort of mission?"

She knew that Vincent helped out with the WRO from time to time, even after the Deepground incident.

"Granted, he comes and goes at the WRO, but I haven't sent him on any mission since three weeks ago."

Tifa pulled out her phone from under the bar top and tapped the screen pulling up the last text she received from Vincent. She shook her head as she showed Reeve the message. "He's terrible at replying back in a reasonable amount of time."

Reeve chuckled and rubbed his chin. Motioning towards her phone, he smiled, "may I?"

She passed her phone over to him and was about to continue shelving the cleaned tumblers when Reeve thrusted her phone back to her.

Eyeing the name on the screen as the phone reached the number; she stared at Reeve wide eyed.

He smirked at her expression as he helped himself to a glass of whiskey.

She mouthed the word 'why' before she heard a click on the other end.

" _Valentine_ "

Tifa couldn't help but smile at the familiar voice.

"Vincent?"

She could hear the amusement in his voice as he answered her, " _Yes._ "

Tifa swore that for a second, she thought she saw Reeve make a heart shape with his gloved hands in the reflection of the bar shelving as he folded his fingers together. She was about to ask when she heard rustling leaves and the hoot of an owl through her phone.

"Vincent where are you?"

There was a pause and a moment's hesitation before she heard him take a breath, "… _I found him_."

She was confused for a moment and then it dawned on her to whom Vincent was referring to. Tifa stood staring at a confused Reeve, who just watched her expression go from delighted to shock in less than three seconds.

" _I followed him all the way to Nibelheim…_ "

Reeve watched as Tifa stood frozen on the spot, he could just make out Vincent's voice from the phone. When she didn't respond after he heard Vincent calling out her name repeatedly, he reached out towards her phone. Just as his fingers were about to connect with the phone, Tifa quietly responded.

"Okay."

She pulled the phone away and hung up. Putting the phone down, She took a step to the side and crumpled down to the floor. Reeve quickly made his way around the bar and kneeled next to her.

"Tifa…?"

She turned towards him and she saw his eyes widen as her shocked reflection in his eyes stared back at her.

"Are you alright?"

Tifa thought a moment before responding, "He found him…in our hometown."

Reeve frowned as he struggled to understand who she meant.

Tifa cracked a crooked smile and mustered up the courage to speak again, "Cloud. Vincent found Cloud in Nibelheim."


	17. Travel

"Yo, Tifa…ya sure about this?"

She was making her way to the ferry in an old construction truck, with an uncharacteristically worried Barret driving. After the news from Vincent, Reeve quickly contacted his people at the WRO and arranged for the earliest ferry ticket for her. In lieu of sending her off, Reeve had contacted all members of their old party and together they had organized her travel plans.

Tifa tucked an unruly strand of hair behind her ear and stared straight ahead at the building traffic in front of them, "I'm sure. I want to know why he left m-us."

Barret frowned as he made a turn off the viaduct to pull into the port parking.

Tifa got out of the truck and grabbed her travel bag, pulling the straps of the bag onto her shoulders she turned around to find Barret with open arms in front of her. She quickly went into his embrace, squeezing tightly as he whispered in her ear.

"Bring him home."

She pulled away in surprise, not from his statement, but from the fact that she was in agreement with him. She could see the concern on his face, worried that he might have said the wrong thing. Despite his size and the image that he gave, Tifa knew Barret in his own way was trying to encourage and support her.

"I'll drag him back if I have to" She nodded with a confident smile, and made her way to where Red XIII and Cait Sith were waiting for her at the ticket booth to the docked ferry. After collecting the ferry ticket from Cait and saying her thanks to them, she made herself comfortable on the ferry. Pulling out her phone she scrolled through her contacts and stopped at the V's, she was about to press the 'call' button but stopped and shook her head to focus on the task ahead of confronting Cloud.

* * *

As the ferry pulled into the port, Tifa could make out two figures standing in front of The Shera. She smiled brightly as the figure in the dark red cowl crossed his arms as the shorter of the figures lit a cigarette.

Tifa couldn't help but overhear Cid and Vincent's 'conversation' as she walked over to where they were waiting.

"Why didn't you come to see us earlier?"

"I was busy."

"Fuck, you know how Shera gets, you should have visited!"

Cid pulled his cigarette from his mouth and grinned as he saw Tifa and thrusted his thumb back at Vincent, "This bastard was talking me to death."

She gave Cid a grin as Vincent rolled his eyes in response.

"Well, c'mon let's get that chocobo head."

As Cid led the way to his airship ahead of them, Tifa noticed Vincent matching her pace. She glanced up at his profile, noticing a pine tree needle caught in his hair.

"Hey Vincent, stop for a moment."

Vincent stilled and turned to face her questioningly. She reached up towards the pine needle and she couldn't help but smile as she noticed his eyes follow the path of her hand. Pulling the pine needle free, she exaggerated her movements as she showed him what she pulled off of him.

He cracked a small smile.

"Um…about last—

The blast of a horn was heard and the two of them turned to The Shera, where Cid knocked on a window of the observation deck and motioned for the two of them to haul ass.

Tifa turned to speak again to Vincent but he was already ahead of her, stepping into the loading bay of The Shera as the sun began to set.

* * *

They were about three hours away from Nibelheim and Tifa couldn't sleep a wink even though it was four in the morning. Travelling nonstop, the fact that Cloud was at the end of this trip made her anxious, and she couldn't convince herself that she was still just a friend to Vincent. Pulling on a thin grey cardigan, she made her way out to the open air viewing deck.

Cid eased the ship's wheel 10 degrees starboard and switched the manuals to auto, before pulling a bottle of liquor out with two tumblers from under the control console. Pouring two generous glasses, he walked over to where Vincent was standing and nudged him with a glass.

Cid watched as Vincent's attention was pulled away from the tumbler and he followed his line of sight to see Tifa barefooted outside on the view deck. He smirked and chuckled.

"What, you made a move on Tifa?"

Vincent quickly glanced at Cid and that was all it took for Cid's eyes to alarmingly widen. This development was something Cid never expected. He took a glance at Vincent and remembered that physically he looked 28, yet technically Vincent was older than him. Cid took a swing of his glass and heavily slapped the taller man on his back.

"Fuck, never thought you had it in you."

Cid smirked at the withering glare Vincent gave him and turned his back to him, making his way to the control panel.

Vincent turned around to face Cid's retreating back, he was about to make a comment when he was interrupted—

"As long as you're both happy it's all rainbows here, Sunshine."

Cid turned around to face Vincent and scoffed at seeing the other man down the last of the liquor, before making his way to the observation deck. Shaking his head, Cid stepped forward, picked up Vincent's empty glass and put it aside to be cleaned.

"Bit of liquid courage always helps…" Smirking to himself, Cid watched as Vincent stood next to Tifa on the observation deck.

* * *

Tilting her face upwards so that the wind blew her hair out of her face for her, Tifa mused over what she would say to Vincent when she saw him again. She knew she had to make up her mind on what to do, yet in her heart she knew it was time to face the music.


	18. Hopes

Tifa sighed heavily, turned around and was startled as she caught Vincent's eye as he made his way towards her from the deck. She did a quick scan behind him and inwardly relaxed as Cid wasn't at the helm. She bit her lip and frowned suddenly at why she thought it was better if Cid didn't see the two of them alone. Glancing up to smile at Vincent, she silently blinked in confusion as he wasn't in front of her anymore; she turned to her side and took a step back in shock.

"What?!"

Vincent gave her a lopsided smile, "I said, are you alright?"

"You scared me, well, more like you surprised me, suddenly appearing at my side when I clearly saw you approaching."

He hummed his acknowledgement, noting her nervousness, and turned back to the view, watching the land below them fly past as the sun made its way up in the sky.

"About—

They both lightly laughed as they spoke the same word and paused at the same time. Tifa tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned on the railing taking in the view.

"You forgot this…"

Tifa turned to see what Vincent had in his gloved hand and wonderingly stared back at him. In his hand was her silver teardrop earring, Tifa reached up to her ear lobe and smiled.

"You brought this with you all this time?"

Vincent turned his gaze away and replied so quietly, she had to lean in to catch what he said, "You left it at my place after…."

Tifa blushed and stared down at her shoes, "T-Thanks for bringing it"

She glanced up just as he switched the earring to his gauntlet hand, and pulled off his glove with his teeth. Picking up the earring with his scarred hand he leaned forward and carefully placed her earring back on for her. He brushed back more of her hair and stepped back to see his handiwork.

"Tsk, watching them is going to give me fucking cavities." Cid smirked as he quickly ducked down behind the console just as Tifa glanced up to the helm again.

Tifa mustered up her courage and met Vincent's gaze, she lightly tugged on her ear, "thank you…."

Seeing the corners of his lips slightly quirk up, gave her hope. She could feel her cheeks redden as she turned away and tightly gripped the railing, "V-Vincent!"

"You don't have to yell, I'm right next to you."

She glanced up and caught the sparkle of amusement in his eyes as he replaced his glove. She couldn't help but laugh, she was already in her twenties, yet she still felt like she was confessing to her high school crush in front of the whole school. She knew she liked Vincent, but to actually admit it to him was something she wouldn't have thought would have been this hard.

"I found Cloud camping out at the base of Mt. Nibel."

She blinked a few times processing what he just said. The sudden change in topic quickly soured the mood. She rubbed her face with her hands, "Why, why are you telling me this now?"

"He needs you."

Tifa immediately looked up from her hands; she swore she saw a split second of regret on Vincent's face. She wanted so badly to hit him, to get him to have a different response than just holding in his emotions. Mentally sighing, she bit her lip and suppressed the urge to yell at him, softly and as steady as she could, she met Vincent's piercing gaze, "Then why did he run away?"

The silence that fell was unbearable, she couldn't take it anymore. She punched his chest hard, again and again, when he didn't stop her she continued. As her emotions overflowed, tears slowly rolled down her face, Vincent grasped her wrists and stilled her arms. She stood there silently crying, from her blurred vision, she watched as he gingerly wiped her tears.

"He needs you."

Vincent continued to wipe her tears and she heard him say it again. A part of her hoped that he was saying that to convince himself of the same thing.

* * *

Vincent silently watched Tifa as she made her way down the gangplank. He was about to follow her when he quickly ducked as a spear swung over his head. He turned around and grasped the spear that nearly pierced his stomach.

"Tsk! Asshole."

Vincent calmly stared back at a livid Cid, the ash on the end of his cigarette dropped down on his bare arms and Cid backed off with his spear. Cid threw down his cigarette and extinguished it with his foot.

Cid stomped forward and backed the taller man into the side of the metal paneled wall of The Shera. "You know how she feels about you, don't you!?"

"Answer me you prick."

Vincent coldly stared back at the blond pilot, "I'm not the one she needs right now."

Cid's eyes softened and he scratched the back of his head before backing down, "Shit, first I see you make her cry now you're all Mr. Righteousness. Fuck!"

"Is everything alright here?"

Both men turned to the gangplank to see Tifa staring at the both of them curiously. Cid quickly smirked and waved a hand, "S'all rainbows here, just had a few words with the statue here. Go on ahead."

Tifa gave Cid a suspicious look before smiling and walking back out towards the village.

Vincent was about to slip away when Cid stopped him again, "You're one cold bastard, you'd better properly talk with her soon."

Vincent's gaze turned toward the direction that Tifa left in then he turned to the blond pilot as an afterthought, "She needs an explanation or at least something like it from _Cloud_."

Vincent heard a snort of disbelief from Cid and started to make his way down to follow after Tifa.

Cid frowned and lit another cigarette, watching as the familiar crimson cape disappeared from his view, "Oi! Vincent, you're not wrong about that!"

Vincent waved his arm in acknowledgment of Cid's statement without turning back to see the pilot's reaction and continued after Tifa.

Taking another deep pull off his cigarette, Cid shook his head at Vincent's retreating back, "Idiot, you're not right either. It's you that needs to move on."


	19. Revelations

Hearing the soft thumps of metal on dirt behind her, Tifa knew that Vincent was just a few steps behind her. They were in the forest just outside of the village, and heading in the direction of Mt. Nibel. She clenched her fists and steeled herself, she knew crying about things didn't help and rather than be reactive, she knew it was time for her to be proactive.

Without turning around, she stated her question, "Are we ever going to talk about it?"

When she didn't hear his footsteps behind her she turned around to find that there was no one there. Tifa stopped and took a moment to get her bearings, she knew just in front of her was a clearing. She turned around again and found a freshly woken and disheveled Cloud in front of her.

The two of them stared at each other as if not sure that either one of them was actually there. Tifa inwardly swore that she would kill Vincent when she saw him again; she wasn't prepared to suddenly bump into Cloud without notice.

"Tifa…? You shouldn't be here."

Tifa frowned then bit her lip to hold back the tears, she told herself that she wouldn't cry yet she felt a bubble burst within and a single warm tear rolled down her face, "I can ask you the same thing!"

Cloud flinched back slightly at the anger radiating from her. He looked around to see if she was alone. Just in the corner of his eye he caught a flash of red amidst the pine trees and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Why?"

Cloud stared blankly at Tifa, confused as to what she was referring to.

Tifa angrily balled her gloved hands into fists, "Why did you leave? Why are you here? J-Just tell me why!"

She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but at this point she just wanted answers. His running away was something that she was going to fix if it was the last thing she would do for him. She watched his gaze fall to the ground then back up, as if he was searching the sky for strength.

"I broke...my promise to you…"

All the anger that she had for him suddenly subsided, her whole body relaxed. Tifa stared back at Cloud in astonishment; she thought that he had forgotten about that. This was what he left her for…a promise they made when they were still kids. She took a step towards him as he took a step back.

"I can't protect you….I—

"Don't just decide that on your own! Cloud…." Tifa sighed and raked a hand through her hair.

Cloud stared helplessly trying to come to terms with the unfolding events in front of him. He rushed forward as he saw Tifa suddenly drop to her knees wiping her tears.

"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Tifa pounded on his chest with each word, sniffling she rubbed her eyes and met his gaze. His clear crisp blue eyes stared back at her; she could see the conflict and concern.

Cloud suddenly fell back stunned and gingerly clasped his cheek, Tifa stood before him even angrier than before, "that was for running away before we could even talk."

As Tifa stalked towards Cloud, he began inching his way backwards, before he bumped into a tree behind him; Tifa had stopped and pulled him towards her in an embrace.

"Running away is not the answer. I'm here. For you." Tifa smiled as Cloud wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close.

Just as Cloud was about to pull away, Tifa felt slack in his arms and he glanced down to see her fast asleep. He smiled as he watched her. Glancing around him, he gingerly bent down careful not to jostle her awake as he lifted her up and brought her back to his camp.

* * *

With Tifa safely asleep in his tent and his usual morning routine completed, Cloud stepped away until he was out of earshot. He did a quick glance around him and spotted the familiar crimson cowl and golden gauntleted man leaning against a tree a few yards away.

"How did you find me?"

"You're not that hard to track"

Leaning against a tree directly across from Vincent, Cloud scoffed and crossed his arms. He eyed the taller man across from him and frowned, "Are you going to tell me why you did this?"

"It wasn't for you."

Cloud stared at Vincent and considered the implications of this information before he spoke, "I can't give her the happiness she wants. Doesn't she understand that?"

Vincent scoffed and turned his face away from Cloud, "You're telling the wrong person."

* * *

Blinking confusedly at her surroundings, Tifa took in the mess of clothing around her and the familiar scent of Cloud. She sat up and quickly rubbed at her face, she couldn't believe how stupid she was falling asleep without getting down to business. Stepping outside of the tent, she scanned the area for signs of Cloud or Vincent. Noting the afternoon glow around the camp and lack of either man, she made an educated guess that it was mid-afternoon and headed towards the nearby stream.

* * *

"Um…"

Cloud glanced over to see Tifa awkwardly smiling at him as she carefully picked her way through the slippery rocks to reach him. As she got closer, Cloud stood up and helped pull her up onto the large bolder that was his fishing spot. Unsure of what he should do next, he immediately took a seat next to his fishing rod without even a glance at her.

"Thanks…"

Cloud nodded his head in response and fiddled with the fishing rod. Tifa took a seat next to him and looked down at her fingers. From a distance hidden in the thick foliage of a pine tree sat Vincent watching the two. He sighed heavily; the awkwardness of the two down by the stream was evident even to him.

"Cloud—

"I'm Sor—

They both paused and stared at each other, Cloud motioned for Tifa to speak first but she shook her head and then nodded at him to go first. Just the fact that Cloud took the initiative to speak just when she did, was a good sign. Tifa inwardly smiled, and leaned forward to give him her undivided attention.

Cloud took a moment to readjust and straighten out his thoughts, "I can't give you the happiness that you want."

Tifa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she thought he was going to make up an excuse saying things like, he's choosing a memory over her or he found her too annoying. She blinked back at him in surprise, "The happiness that I want?"

Cloud stopped and reflected the same surprise that Tifa was giving him, "I can't do…that…I can't have any kids."

Tifa stared at Cloud wide eyed, "Cloud….I can't have any children either."

"What?!"

"I thought..."

"When we fell in the lifestream…"

The two of them stared wide eyed and shocked at each other for a good minute, until suddenly they broke into laugher. The whole situation was absurd; now that they had cleared it up…it made things between them easier. Tifa wiped at her eyes from the tears of laugher and then immediately sobered. Now that things with Cloud were on the mend, how she was going to explain what happened with Vincent.


	20. Concede

Tifa sighed and paused her scrubbing to brush her bangs away from her eyes. She glanced at the clock on the wall before continuing to scrub at the burnt bottom of the copper pan. It had been a few weeks since she came back to Seventh Heaven with Cloud. Things had slowly but surely returned to the same routine they had before Cloud had left. Strife Delivery Service was picking up business that Reeve sent their way. Seventh Heaven returned to the usual hours with a notable increase of regulars, but there was one regular that hadn't been in for a while.

Rinsing her hands after she removed her rubber gloves, Tifa turned off the tap and sighed again. It wasn't that she forgot about Vincent, it was more of not being able to contact or even find him. When Cloud and Tifa had returned to his camp to pack up, she called out for Vincent, but there was no answer. Even when they met up with Cid to head back, Tifa noted the old pilot was somewhat gruffer when she asked him if Vincent had left ahead of them. Cid had no idea where Vincent had gone. Calling Reeve was a dead end also, as he also did not hear anything from Vincent. Texting and leaving multiple messages on Vincent's phone was all she had. After the third message she left, Tifa only hoped that Vincent would stop by tonight. She still felt uneasy about what happened and had yet to tell Cloud.

"Um, has Vincent contacted you?"

Tifa watched in trepidation for his answer. Cloud quirked an eyebrow in thought before swallowing and spearing more pasta, noting the uncertainty on her face and the tone of her question, "No, why do you ask?"

"I-I was just curious that's all, we haven't seen him in a while." Tifa quickly smiled cheerfully at Cloud and refocused on her pasta.

Cloud watched Tifa push her pasta around on her plate in silence before putting down his fork, "What's wrong?"

Startled for a moment from Cloud's question, she glanced up from her plate and saw the sincere concern on his face. She put down her fork, mentally braced herself, and straightened up in her chair; in one breath she blurted it out, "I slept with him when you were gone."

Cloud stared back blankly at her, for a moment Tifa thought she lost him.

"I was lonely, I mean you left without warning and I—

"He actually…."

Tifa could see him struggling with the idea and for a moment she was tempted to go over to him and give him a hug but thought better of it.

"I wanted to tell you sooner, I still haven't even talked to Vincent about it. I just don't know anymore, I'm sorry for springing this on you now."

She watched Cloud wipe his mouth with a napkin, the rest of his pasta forgotten as he stood up from his seat. She also stood up to follow him, but he raised a hand and motioned for her to be still, "Give me a moment."

Crestfallen, Tifa sat back down and watched Cloud scuffle towards the sitting room sofa before abruptly turning around to face her then turning back to the sofa, before he finally decided to face his back to her. He crossed his arms and audibly sighed, "What's done is done. Do you have feelings for him?"

Tifa raised her head in surprise; Cloud was taking this rather maturely to her relief. She watched his back trying to gleam any hints to the expression on his face, "I like him…as I like you."

When there wasn't any response from him, she stood from her seat and took a step forward, she was going to move towards him but stopped when he suddenly turned around and quickly walked past her towards the kids' bedroom, "I'm not hungry anymore."

Placing the last of the dishes in the washing machine and turning it on, she glanced towards the kids' bedroom and sighed, she knew she made this bed and now she was paying for it. Rubbing her face with her hand she groaned at herself, "Why did I say that?"

* * *

Vincent glanced at his vibrating phone on his desk and watched another notification pop up on screen notifying him of another voice message from Tifa. He knew he was acting coldly towards her, but her relationship with Cloud was the most important at this time so he distanced himself from them.

Putting his three barreled revolver back together after cleaning it, he stared at the polished metal ring at the bottom of the grip and glanced at the black velvet box containing the Cerberus charm that Tifa fixed for him, next to the desk lamp.

Taking a sip of his red wine, he picked up his phone and scrolled through his messages, several were from Reeve about more work and one was from Cid. He opened the one from Cid and grunted in amusement as he read it. Closing the message from Cid, his thumb hovered over the 'open' key for the first of Tifa's texts; he hesitated a moment too late and then put his phone down.

Staring at the black velvet box again, he reached forward and opened it, the silver three headed charm glinted back at him under the lamp light. Picking it up he admired it before he noticed an engraving on the clasp, twisting it under the light he made out the numbers of his birth date on it.

Smiling at the small gesture that Tifa did on the charm he attached it to the bottom of gun and lifted the velvet box to throw it out when a slip of paper fell.

Unfolding the paper and taking another sip of his wine, he read over the handwritten note Tifa left for him:

" _Vincent,_

_Happy (blank) Birthday! Technically it isn't your birthday and you insisted no gifts but this is the least I can do for you._

_Thank you for all that you have done for us. I hope to celebrate your day of birth for years to come!_

_Tifa"_

_P.S. I'm honestly not sure how old you are but I hope you're not offended with the blank I inserted there. :)_

Standing from his seat, Vincent picked up his phone and walked over to the open balcony doors and glanced at the note in his hand again with a smile before opening Tifa's text messages.


	21. Maturity

He stood just out of sight of Seventh Heaven, from his vantage point he could make out Tifa's silhouette at the bar and he could see Cloud outside breaking down cardboard boxes to throw into the large bin of recyclables. He was about to move away when he heard a voice.

"When are you going to talk to us?"

Vincent paused and remained silent, not daring to face Cloud who called him out.

"How do you feel about her?"

A strained silence fell between them, it was late and almost time for Tifa to close the bar. Cloud knew he was pushing it, waiting for Vincent to respond. The blond swordsman had a sneaking suspicion that the gunslinger was lurking around lately and decided to test his suspicion tonight.

Vincent frowned and quietly moved away.

Cloud glanced up at the roof of the building across from the bar and scoffed when there was no response.

* * *

Time went by so fast, it's been months since Vincent last visited; there were no responses from him either about her messages. Now that the rest of the old crew knew that Cloud was back, she had gotten so many messages and more visits from old faces. She had been so busy and preoccupied with the daily happenings and running the bar, she hadn't had a chance to stop by his place to visit.

Tifa wiped down the bar top one last time, rinsed the rag and threw it into a washing bin. Brushing her hands and placing them on her hips she took one last look around before proudly announcing to the empty bar, "Done!"

She was going to head upstairs to call it a night, but decided to wait for Cloud to comeback in. Despite the unease between them, she could not help but worry about what Cloud thought about her admission to him the other night.

Shuffling was heard in the back room and Cloud finally walked into the bar not meeting her glance. The tension in the room surged to a near breaking point, with everything they had built up to this point. Cloud was just about to make the stairs when he paused as if waiting for something. Tifa frowned and clenched her hands together, mustering up the courage. This awkward not speaking to each other relationship they had now was ridiculous, she knew they both fell back to their old ways of keeping their feelings from each other.

"I'm Sorry."

Cloud turned around and stared at Tifa, and laughed when he realized they apologized in sync with each other.

Tifa came around to properly face Cloud and smiled, he motioned for the nearest table.

"You want something?"

He glanced from the table to Tifa's face, he could tell she wanted to keep her hands busy and so he shrugged, "Sure"

He took a seat at the nearest table and watched her go back behind the bar and grabbed what she could from the fridge.

She placed two bottles of Nibel beer on the table and pulled out the chair across from him and took a seat. She knew she was stalling for time as she popped the lids on the bottles and took a large swig from her bottle.

When Cloud didn't speak but just sat there watching her play with the bottle cap, she glanced around the bar doing another mental checklist of items to stock up. Still neither of them said a word, the ticking of the analog clock on the wall more obvious than usual. She waited and watched Cloud, but never quite meeting his gaze. Focusing on his sliver earing she watched as it glinted back at her under the lights from the bar.

After what felt like an eternity, she took another swig from her bottle, noting that he didn't even touch his own. Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands together to prevent herself from fidgeting, "So…Vincent…"

"Yeah"

She turned her gaze towards him and waited to catch his eyes. A moment of silence fell and finally Cloud looked up from his hands, she nervously smiled at him, "I think -no- I feel we need to talk about this."

She made a gesture motion between them and Cloud nodded in acknowledgment, taking his hands as she noticed him staring at them again, not meeting her gaze. Holding his hands she felt his warmth, callouses from previous battles, the single scar on his palm from accidentally slicing himself with the box cutter the other night. She couldn't look up from his hands but she knew he had an idea of what she was struggling to convey.

"I think I'm falling in love with him, but-

"I understand."

She quickly looked up and was startled to see Cloud meeting her gaze, his eyes warmly met hers and he smiled, "I wasn't angry, just shocked when you told me that night."

She stared at him wonderingly, her emotions running high in one moment to confusion and relief in the next. Here she was worried that she would lose Cloud again, he was her foundation, her home. If Cloud was her rock, then Vincent was like the wind, here one moment gone the next. What Cloud said next confirmed her suspicions.

"He's been lurking around, Vincent I mean."

"Thank you, Cloud"

This time Cloud stared back at Tifa in surprise. Even though the two of them never really talked about the more emotional side of their relationship, they knew there was an underlying understanding. They had drifted apart and fallen into a comfortable routine as roommates rather than lovers. They were both fond of each other but after so long and all that had happened this was the unspoken place their relationship had come to.

Cloud removed his hands from her grasp, and took her hands in his instead, "Drag his ass back here."

Laughing lightly, she nodded and smiled.

From the alleyway just across from the main window of Seventh Heaven, Vincent turned from his hidden spot and starting making his way back home after noting Tifa and Cloud were back to their usual selves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: We get some answers from Vincent.


	22. Perspective

Waking up refreshed, Tifa reminisced about the talk she had with Cloud last night and softly smiled. She felt lighter, a weight she didn't realize she had been holding onto these many years she was with Cloud was gone. Stretching her arms, she moved out of bed to get ready for the day.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she was surprisingly greeted by the sight of Cloud at the stove spatula in hand, a stack full of burnt pancakes next to the pan. The counter was covered in pastry flour, an empty milk carton, and several egg shells.

"Good morning….what is this?"

While staring intently at the stove, Cloud poked at the cooking pancake, "Uh…I'm making breakfast?"

Stifling a giggle, she grabbed a dish cloth and wetted it, "Cloud turn around."

"Give me a second."

She took a quick peek at the pancakes cooking on the pan and laughingly replied, "Cloud, they won't burn, it will only take a moment."

He turned around and she laughed, his noise had some batter and he had some smudges of flour on his face. She wiped off the flour and batter, then quickly stole the spatula from his hand and flipped the pancake for him.

"What brought on this sudden cooking experiment?"

She served the golden brown pancake onto a plate and began cooking up another before facing Cloud, who was focused on watching the cooking pancake.

"I gotta start pulling my weight around here."

She stared at him curiously and inwardly sighed, "Hey, I don't mind cooking you know. Things don't have to suddenly change just because of yesterday."

The concentrated focus Cloud had on his face slowly morphed into one of surprise. He turned his attention to Tifa's smiling face and suddenly turned his back to her, "Yeah"

She smiled brightly as she saw Cloud's neck turn red in embarrassment. Amused with his reaction, she cleared her throat and put on a lecturing tone, "Lesson one in making pancakes, keep your work area clean and don't poke at them while they're cooking."

* * *

As he stepped past the threshold of the WRO, a few office workers stopped and watched him as he approached the front desk.

The receptionist did a double take before smiling at him, "Welcome to the World Regenesis Organization, my name is Iris, and how may I help you?"

Vincent stood silent and waited as he stared at the security camera in the corner.

"Sir, how may I help you?"

"Iris, thank you. I can take it from here."

Vincent watched as Reeve made his way over from the elevators and assured a surprised and frantic Iris that she was doing a great job.

Usually Vincent would make less conspicuous entrances and Reeve was surprised when he saw his old friend's crimson cowl on the security monitor in his office. Reeve gave Vincent a once over and chuckled, "Gone for months without contact…you sure know how to make an entrance."

* * *

Tifa glanced once more at Cloud behind the bar opening up bottles of Nibel beer, she caught his eye and he called out to her, "Go, I can handle it."

She gave a glance round the bar, turned to the side door and stopped in her tracks to do another when she was startled from Cloud's push on her back, "Go, I promise the bar will still be standing when you get back."

"But"

"Bring him back."

Seeing the encouragement and strength in Cloud's crisp blue eyes, gave her the resolve to go through with the plan they came up with together. The first thing was for her to actually start the plan. The plan though flimsy, to put it nicely, was for her to go to his apartment and find him. If he wasn't home, she'd go to the WRO and see what leads she could find. If worse came to worse, she knew there was one place Shelke could lead her to, but she was reluctant to go to a place so close to his heart.

* * *

Pulling out his phone when he finally left the WRO, he checked the time and sighed. It was already past two in the morning. The only reason for his sudden appearance at the office was to see how far Reeve had gotten to reactivate his old accounts from back in his Turk days. After all those years his bank assumed he had died and now he only got by from the missions he performed for the WRO.

Walking down the hall towards his apartment he could see Tifa's curled form on the floor. Rushing forward he kneeled down and felt her wrist and let out a relieved breath, she was only asleep. Carefully lifting her up, so as to not wake her, he brought her in bridal style and glanced down at her as she snuggled into his chest.

Making his way towards the bedroom, he used his foot and softly pushed open the door. A quick thought passed his mind that probably shouldn't have carried her in this way as he was doing now. As he placed her on his bed and started to move away she shifted her position and her brow furrowed. Vincent tried to lift the blankets underneath her without waking her but it was too late, a firm hand had gripped his wrist.

"Vincent!"

He turned his gaze to her and was mildly surprised to see the worry in her eyes. Before he could reply, she pulled him towards her and enveloped him a tight hug. The proximity to her after so long brought back emotions he refused to acknowledge, he was about to return her hug but quickly gripped her shoulders and pushed her away instead, "You should rest."

He was surprised when she stared back at him angry. He thought she would have been more hurt than angry.

"Why didn't you respond to my messages?"

Momentarily stunned by her response, Vincent frowned and caught the corner of her lips slightly turning and realized she was trying her best at keeping a straight face. He turned away and moved off of the bed to stand, "I was busy."

Tifa frowned this time, she was hoping to get back the friendly atmosphere they had built and had purposely put on an act of being angry at him. She didn't expect to fall asleep in his hallway and wake up to find he brought her in. Tifa wanted to reach out to him as he stood from the bed, but dropped her outstretched hand when she noted how he was acting coldly towards her.

She sat up crossed her legs and arms, if this was how he was going to act then she responded in kind, "What kept you so busy that you couldn't even reply or even come see us?"

He stepped towards his desk, turned on the desk lamp, pulled open the drawer, closing the drawer, he raised his gloved hand towards her and she untangled her arms and presented her hand palm up to him. He didn't make eye contact with her but lightly dropped the object in her palm.

"That"

Glancing at the silver wolf ring in her hand her eyes widened in surprise. The very same ring she threw into where the remains of where Midgar once stood. She stared at his face to see his reaction but she couldn't read the mask he had on. She watched him leave the room closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Tifa learns of Vincent's reasoning for his actions.


	23. Running

Tifa stared down at the ring that glinted back at her from the lamp light on Vincent's desk. Closing her hand she was about to angrily throw the ring at the closed door, but paused and lowered her arm. It wasn't his fault that this ring was bringing back some memories she'd rather forget.

She turned to the bedside table and put the ring on it. Getting off the bed she tentatively walked out to find Vincent. Closing the door behind her, she stopped and tried to adjust to the dark, "Vincent?"

When there was no answer, she tiptoed closer towards the kitchen area before stubbing her toes on the sofa and falling forward in pain. She expected to hit the sofa cushions but instead she fell on top Vincent, suddenly knocking the wind out of him from her sudden impact.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Tifa struggled to get off him but one of her legs was stuck between the seat cushion and the backrest of the sofa

He stopped her struggling by grasping her shoulders and sitting up. After pulling her leg out from the sofa, he caught his breath and nearly yelped when he realized just how close her face was in the dark. He had excellent night vision and she was literally inches from his face staring back at him half apologetic half curious.

She reached out to lightly brush his bangs from eyes, she noticed it before but it was more pronounced now that she was so close to him and the fact that he was momentarily unguarded. The faint red glow from his eyes as he stared back at her mesmerized her. He blinked and the glow disappeared, "Are you alright?"

She started a moment before nodding her head, "I'm fine, sorry about…this"

He saw her head drop to her chest, he could tell she had a lot on her mind, as he let her collect her thoughts he was tempted to brush away the hair that fell into her eyes. Pushing back that desire he tried to move back and realized that she had him trapped, himself sitting between her legs as she sat between his.

"Vincent…about what happened between us, Cloud…he knows..."

"He knows…and has accepted it. About Cloud and I, we're better friends than lovers."

As the sun began rising, she could slowly make out the his silhouette and his features, she gathered her courage and looked at him, forcing her emotions to stay calm, but she saw it as the dawn arrived, he had a mask of calm on his face. The very same mask of indifference she saw on his face, the first time she had met him.

Tifa knew that this was it; this was the line that he had drawn between them. They had crossed it a few times before but now it seemed like this was to be the last time. She made to get up but was stopped when he took hold of her wrist; she turned to face him and blinked back tears that were threatening to fall. She wanted to run away, but she couldn't with him still holding her, anchoring her to this spot.

He reached forward and lightly brushed her hair over her shoulder, clearing the curtain that covered half her face. He paused when he saw the single tear that slid down her face. It was then that he finally looked into her eyes.

"Was it out of pity that you slept with me?"

Tifa stared back at Vincent now openly crying, she saw it then the crack in his indifferent mask he had on. He turned away and she was about to throw a fit when he finally spoke, "No, it wasn't pity."

The birds began chirping as morning came, yet the two of them still sat there. They both were tired yet the atmosphere in the room was tense. They were going into a topic both were highly uncomfortable with yet Tifa knew it was time they talked things out.

"Then what was it?"

He looked her in the eye as he spoke, she could see the truth behind his words, feel his warmth as he wiped away her tears, "I don't know, but we shouldn't continue _this_."

She frowned in response, as he untangled himself from her and stood. She followed after him planting herself in his path; he had his mask back on his face.

She stepped towards him and tilted her head up to him, "You're running."

He just stared at her in response, he could see her eyes glancing at his lips and before he could respond to her, she grasped the scruff of his shirt and pulled him down, closing the distance between them in an intense and passionate kiss.

He responded in turn, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling away but leaning his forehead against hers, his warm breath tickling her ear as he sighed deeply, catching his breath.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and glanced up at his face when he moved his head away; he covered her hands with his own and began moving away from her.

She quickly pulled her hands from him and cupped his face and looked him in the eyes, she really didn't want to say it but if there was a chance, she was going to take it, "Vincent, I'm not looking for some fairy tale relationship. I want this. What we have here. Now"

"I can't—

"You mean you won't." She dropped her hands from his face and took a step away from him.

Vincent stared back at her with a frown; he shifted his gaze from her eyes to a spot just above her head, "I will outlive you.…"

Tifa stared back at him dumbfounded; Vincent finally said what was truly in his mind. It made sense to her now, the reason why he distanced himself from her and everyone, the reason he pushed her towards Cloud. He didn't want to repeat his past, closing himself off.

"Then why do you keep giving me hope when you never leave any for yourself."

Vincent turned away from her with a frown; he took a seat on his sofa and stared at his hands in thought. She came over and sat next to him, she slipped her hand into his, intertwining her fingers with his holding his hand. A few silent moments later he closed his fingers over her hand mirroring her movement.


	24. Pause

The numbness on his back was what woke him. He wanted to move when he realized his hand was occupied and his left side had a familiar weight to it. Vincent opened his eyes and yawned, they had both fallen asleep on the sofa after their talk, and he glanced at the clock on the kitchen stove and carefully released Tifa's hand. He took a chance and moved his position slightly, glancing at Tifa's sleeping face and noting that she was deeply asleep, he carefully lifted her up and lay her down on the sofa in a more comfortable position.

They had slept for hours, it was already six in the evening and Vincent was hungry so he decided to make something for the both of them.

* * *

Tifa awoke to the delicious smell of steaks cooking and the sound of a knife on a chopping board. She sat up from the sofa and glanced down to find Vincent's cowl over her. She realized that she had fallen asleep on the sofa. Moaning softly as she stretched, she haphazardly wrapped his cowl over her shoulders and walked towards Vincent as he roughly chopped the romaine lettuce.

"Hmm smells good."

He glanced to his side and smirked at her appearance, she was practically drowning in his cowl with just her head visible inspecting his meal preparation.

"Do you need a hand?"

"I'm good with the two that I have."

Tifa did a double take at Vincent who smirked back at her; she couldn't believe that he was joking with her. She lightly punched his shoulder and he raised a hand in weak protest, "Could you plate the steaks?"

Tifa nodded and went round to the stovetop and plated the steaks, she came round to his side with both of their plates and he quickly added generous portions of salad and a cut of brioche on the side. She was about to bring the plates to the table when he stopped her and quickly drizzled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad.

He motioned for her to take a seat and she removed his cowl and gently placed it on the sofa before taking a seat, excited to try another of Vincent's meals. He smirked at her anticipation as he placed her meal in front of her. He put his plate down and turned back to the kitchen to grab two glasses.

"Would you like some?"

Tifa smiled in response at seeing the bottle of Merlot in his hand, this dinner was turning into something much fancier than she thought it would be, "Sure, if you're having some."

Just as Vincent placed the generous glasses of wine on the table, Tifa's phone rang. She smiled apologetically at Vincent and looked around the room for her bag. When she couldn't see it she ran back into his bedroom, spotting her bag on his desk, and pulled her phone out. Slightly frowning at the number flashing on screen she answered it.

" _Tifa, um… are you…coming back tonight?"_

Distracted by the ring on the bedside table, Tifa thought about her current predicament. She knew the issue with Vincent was currently on the backburner due to hunger, but she also knew that the moment she left his apartment she would lose her nerve to confront Vincent a second time.

"Hey Cloud…"

" _Yeah?"_

"Thank you for yesterday."

She could hear him fidget with his clothes over the phone embarrassed yet pleased.

" _Yeah, it's nothing. I've got a delivery so you okay if I close the bar tonight?"_

She nodded then realized he couldn't see her, "Uh, yeah that's no problem—

" _Tifa, what's wrong?"_

She bit her lip and shook her head, surprised that Cloud caught on to her unease over the phone, "Hmm, it's nothing."

" _Hey, he's just as stubborn as you are okay"_

He hung up on her before she could respond and she smiled at the sudden advice from Cloud.

* * *

Watching her rush back into his bedroom, Vincent knew that he was stalling the discussion about his relationship with Tifa. To go through the pain of losing someone he cared about a second time was too much to ask for and yet Tifa was asking exactly that. He wasn't technically immortal (he got confirmation of this from Shelke) but due to his body aging much slower than normal it was inevitable that he would live on past his friends and he could only deal with so much loss.

Despite his misgivings during his absence from Seventh Heaven, he reminisced about the discussion he had with Shelke a few days ago while Tifa was on the phone.

* * *

He had thought he was alone in the desolation of what was left of Midgar, when Shelke had approached him picnic basket hung on her arm. In that moment seeing the girl walking towards him, he could see remnants of Lucrecia in the young girl in front of him, her speech pattern and if he really concentrated he could see the same smile. He stopped that train of thought and refocused with his search for Tifa's ring.

"Hey Vincent!"

He only nodded in response. Seeing illusions of Lucrecia in Shelke was bringing back memories he didn't want to remember. He already made amends when he said his goodbyes and thanks to Lucrecia in that crystal cave. Despite her help in the Deepground Incident, he never considered properly speaking with Shelke and made a point of avoiding doing so. Ignoring her approach, he turned his back to her and pushed the rubble aside.

"Vincent!"

He continued ignoring her and moved on to the next pile of rubble in his search.

"Vincent Valentine!"

This got his attention as it sounded just as how Lucrecia said his name when annoyed at him. He meekly turned to face her and his eyes widened in surprise at seeing Shelke standing in front of him arms crossed with a glare on her face.

"Are you ignoring me?"

"Shelke, what are you doing here?"

"You're ignoring me, c'mon let's eat." She moved ahead without waiting to see if he would follow, "You coming or not?"

Vincent reluctantly followed after her to Aerith's church. He stepped inside to see Shelke already comfortably seated on a blanket munching on a sandwich in hand. He saw her reach into the picnic basket and threw a packet of chips at him.

"Reeve sent me, but don't worry I won't tell him I found you."

He took a seat across from her and put the chips down before reaching for a sandwich when she slapped his hand, "uh-uh, you never answered my question earlier."

He rubbed his gloved hand and frowned in thought.

"I asked if you were ignoring me."

He caught her gaze noting the displeasure on her face, "If I was why it would matter?"

Her tone softened as she offered him the sandwich he was reaching for, "It matters because I am not her."

Vincent paused his reach for the sandwich and brought his hand back to his lap.

"I may have her memories but I am still me, Shelke."

He nodded in response taking a quick glance at a sandwich; he looked her in the eye and took a moment to really look at her, "I'm sorry."

Shelke smiled and nodded in response. She reached into the picnic basket again and motioned for him to bring his hand forward, "You're looking for this right?"

She dropped Tifa's ring into his hand and he stared at her in surprise, he had spent the majority of these past few months scouring for this very ring. She smirked at his response; she had happened on the ring during a construction survey of Midgar for the WRO, "Before you ask me how, eat your damn sandwich first."

She shoved the plate of sandwiches toward him and happily popped the last bite of sandwich she had in her hand, as if further proving how different she was to his old flame.


	25. Progress

When she stepped back into the room, she noted that his glass was now half full and quickly sat down.

"Sorry about that, you didn't have to wait for me"

Vincent shook his head and motioned for her to take a seat.

They ate in amiable silence, both focused on the food rather than the obvious elephant in the room.

After a couple of bites, Tifa put down her utensils and Vincent did just the same. The food was delicious but Tifa was too anxious to continue. Picking up her glass of wine, she watched him through the glass as she drank a good portion before putting it down. She stood and came around to stand in front of him.

As she stood over him, he kept his gaze fixed on her. She reached out a hand and undid his bandana, his hair splaying over his shoulders and bangs falling into his face. Why she did this, she didn't know but it felt right to her, to see his face more exposed. The fact that he didn't stop her further enforced her actions, if she couldn't reason with him with words; perhaps showing him would make him understand her feelings for him. Pushing his hair away she saw his eyes slowly open and without warning he pushed his chair back and his arms wrapped around her waist pulling her onto his lap.

Slightly startled, she nervously smiled at him as he held her in place and stared at her. She could see his pupils dilate, her pulse increase in anticipation. He reached over and gently cupped her face, watching her as if memorizing her. He leaned forward while pulling her towards him. His half lidded eyes fixated on her lips, his low voice just before he moved forward and gently captured her lips.

"…whatever this is…"

He pulled away and held her at shoulder's length. She could see him struggle with his thoughts, the conflict in his eyes. She stayed silent and that was when it occurred to her, his actions spoke more than any words he could say, she didn't care anymore. The fierce need she had to put a label on this relationship between them, to define it seemed so trivial now. Was it love? She would have said it was, more romantic than familial. To have Vincent to admit it, that was something she knew he wasn't ready to. She knew he had to accept the changes in his heart before any kind of disclosure could be made of him.

He caught her gaze and she could see he that he made up his mind to continue his sentence. She internally braced herself for the worse and put on a brave face, looking back into his deep crimson eyes.

"Whatever this is…don't call it love…."

The way he said it, as if there was more to it than what was spoken stunned her. She knew he wasn't saying it to scare her away but he was telling her honestly what he felt. She silently nodded and pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes as if resolved of his intentions.

Before she could even open her eyes again he captured her lips with purpose and brought her closer towards him. Her breasts pressed against his chest as he broke away and nibbled on her ear and let she let out a low moan as he kissed a trail down her neck and moved his hand down seeking her warmth. Tifa knew she should stop him, but she wanted his touch as much as he was seeking hers. She was now straddling him and throwing her head back as his talented fingers found a sensitive spot and she ground into his hand urging him on….

* * *

He woke before her, seeing her lying next to him; hair splayed on the pillow every which way brought a small smile to his face. He reached out and brushed away a strand of her hair from her face. A part of him knew that he should stop this, yet here he was lying in bed next to her.

Vincent frowned and quickly pulled his hand away from playing with her hair. He turned away from her and sat up. His feet just touched the floor when he heard a moan and the rustling of sheets behind him; he resisted the urge to look back at her.

"Vincent…?"

He visibly stiffened when she said his name in an unintentionally seductive voice.

Tifa stared at Vincent's stiff back and stifled a giggle, she crawled towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, propping her head on his shoulder, whispering in his ear, "Hi"

He grasped her arms and began prying them off of his waist, "You should go."

She frowned and released her hold on him backing off. When he didn't hear a response from her he turned around to face her.

She stared up at him, unembarrassed by her nakedness, and suddenly blurted out, "What am I to you?"

When he didn't respond, she continued in a scarily calm tone, "A friend with benefits or am I your fuck buddy? Don't get me wrong, the sex is amazing but is this all our relationship amounts to…sex?"

He winced at her words. He opened his mouth to quickly respond but stopped mid-thought. She stared back at him expectantly, arms crossed and eyebrow curved up in skepticism. He always had the impression that Tifa was a naïve lover, she was young and inexperienced but he also was just as inexperienced as her. This sudden uncharacteristic outburst from her surprised him.

Tifa was internally screaming at herself, why did she just rant her frustrations at him? As much as she liked Vincent, Cloud was right; he was stubborn, secretive, and unpredictable.

"Wait! Before you speak, I'm sorry." She let out a sigh and he closed his mouth taking a seat again on his bed.

"I just want you to be honest with me. Tell me how you feel, good or bad I want to know."

She could see him listening to her, but he had yet to turn to look her in the eyes. It was getting slightly chilly and she raised the bedsheets over her shoulders waiting for his response.

He faced her and she watched as he moved forward and pulled her towards him. Her ear pressed against his chest, she could hear his quickly beating heart.

"This is how you make me feel."

Tifa glanced up at his face and smiled as he momentarily caught her eyes and turned away a slight blush blooming on his pale cheeks.


	26. Affection

"So? Are you and Vincent dating?" Yuffie leaned forward and motioned with her head at Vincent who stood behind the bar mixing a drink and chatting with Cloud.

Tifa coughed heavily and put down her glass. Shelke elbowed Yuffie, who shot her a 'what?' look, then passed Tifa a napkin.

The whole crew occupied the space of Seventh Heaven; they were all gathered to celebrate Cloud's birthday. There were attempts by everyone to at least dress somewhat decently despite the overbearing August heat, out of everyone in the room only Vincent and Cloud had waistcoats with their dress shirts and pants whereas the others had blazers. The ladies had summer floral print dresses on, further brightening up the room with color. Denzel and Marlene were seated in a booth enjoying their spaghetti and meatballs under the supervision of Shera. Cid, Reeve, Barret, Reno, and Rude were in a corner nearest the air conditioner playing a round of poker. Streamers and chocobo shaped balloons were placed around the room with a large colorful banner, painted by the kids, declaring Cloud's birthday hung across the windows.

Cloud did a quick once over of everyone in the room with a lazy smile, everyone cleaned up nicely. It had been at least a week since Cloud returned home from a delivery to Costa del Sol. Slightly tanned and seated on a bar stool as Vincent acted as bartender in front of him. He hadn't heard from Tifa since he left but he glanced over at her just as she very nearly spat out her drink. He smiled as Tifa thanked Shelke and glared at Yuffie.

* * *

Vincent knew the question was on Cloud's mind the moment he came into the bar with Tifa that evening. Vincent watched Cloud as he glanced at Tifa as she wiped at her eyes and assured Shelke that she was fine.

"How are things between you two?"

Cloud turned back to Vincent, slightly taken aback at his question, but watching him as he poured a decent amount of Nibel vodka into a shaker.

Cloud narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "….We're good. What about you?"

Vincent could feel Cloud scrutinizing him as he picked up the shaker and began shaking it. He knew he was stalling his answer, yet continued his shaking. With a free hand he grabbed two glasses and poured the contents of the shaker in them. Placing the drink in front of the blond, he motioned for him to give it a try.

"Things are well between us."

There was a slight almost imperceptible note of hesitation, but Cloud decided to let it slide. He picked up his glass, but before he took a sip he eyed Vincent again, "Is that so"

Vincent glanced around the room at everyone as he took a sip of his drink ignoring Cloud's blatant attempt to get a reaction out of him. His glaze came to stop at Tifa as she stood from the table and walked towards them with a grin on her face.

* * *

"I'm alright Shelke, thanks for the napkin."

Seeing Shelke shove Yuffie, made Tifa smile. It wasn't Yuffie's question that surprised her but her timing of it. It was only yesterday that she got some indication of the feelings that Vincent had about her. She glanced at Cloud and Vincent at the bar, the two of them looking like baristas in their waistcoats.

Turning to the eager teenage girl, Tifa gave a shy smile, "What makes you say that?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes and turned to Shelke, "Can you believe this? I mean we saw you kiss."

Tifa's eyes widened in response, confused for a moment trying to remember when this kiss happened and then it dawned on her. It was surprising to hear that the two of them caught her giving Vincent a kiss on his cheek, but she quickly decided to brush it off.

"Oh, that was nothing but a friendly kiss. Besides it was for Vincent to give to Reeve." She said Reeve's name just loud enough that the man looked up from his cards in their direction. Just as she turned her gaze to look at Reeve, the older man gave a smile and wave to the three of them.

Tifa could see the Yuffie and Shelke's eyes widen in shock and she demurely left the table before walking up to Cloud and Vincent at the bar with a wide grin.

* * *

"What are you two drinking?"

Cloud glanced down at his drink then towards Vincent before facing Tifa, "Dunno but its good."

"Vodka and Duscaen grapefruit juice with a touch of pepper, but what did you say to those two?" Vincent motioned towards Yuffie and Shelke.

Cloud and Tifa turned towards them, the two girls were staring at each other in shock then suddenly laughing loudly before going silent again and glancing back and forth between Reeve, Tifa, and Vincent. Reeve turned his gaze to the three of them at the bar giving them a look of utter confusion before returning to his cards.

Giggling Tifa made her way around the other side of the bar to try a bit of Vincent's concoction, "Remember that kiss I wanted you to give to Reeve?"

Vincent smirked and nodded, "Yeah"

Cloud was lost in the conversation but he smiled nonetheless at seeing Tifa smiling.

* * *

"So when was the last time you got drunk?"

Vincent turned his attention to Tifa who was leaning against the bar top drinking from his glass again after she requested for him to make another of his grapefruit vodka concoction.

The party was nearing its close, Shera, Yuffie, and Shelke had taken the kids upstairs to bed and didn't return, and likely they fell asleep with them in their room. Cloud was slumped over the poker table asleep, his hair in disarray with party hat at a jaunty angle, top two buttons of his dress shirt undone, and waistcoat on the floor. Reno and Rude were both passed out on the floor, in different stages of undress from their game of strip and shots poker. Cid and Barret asleep in a booth, an unlit cigarette precariously balanced on Cid's lips, while Barret laid on the whole seat of the booth, arm across his eyes snoring up a storm. Reeve slouched in his seat and without his blazer, mulling over the cards still on the table that weren't covered by the blond swordsman.

"I can hold my drinks quite well."

She stared back at him in disbelief. He shrugged and pulled the half-finished glass from her hands.

Now that she thought about it, she has never seen Vincent drunk even when she had that excellent scotch he had hidden away at his place; there wasn't a moment in which she saw him in the slightest bit tipsy.

He came round the bar taking a sip of from the glass in his hand and pretended to stumble and sway before sitting next to her. She lightly slapped his shoulder and he smirked in amusement.

"Though…I can get drunk on…." He leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips to hers, the rest of his comment muffled from his kiss.

Little did they notice, Reeve hiding his smirk behind his hand as he watched the uncharacteristic display of affection from Vincent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Teasing from a certain WRO CEO
> 
> Yes, I threw in a little nod to FFXV with that "Duscaen" grapefruit, perhaps I'll write something of a certain pairing I adore in that game once I finish this one. I hope I do these characters justice!


	27. Teasing

Tifa broke away from his kiss with a smile. She quickly glanced into his eyes catching the mirth and the smirk on the corner of his lips. She playfully punched his shoulder, "Did you really use that line on me?"

"Depends…did it work?"

She gave him a coy smile then crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. He scoffed and finished off the drink and glanced down at the empty glass, "Guess it was the alcohol talking."

He gave her a cheeky wink and she shoved him away with a giggle.

The two of them turned towards Reeve in alarm as he coughed awkwardly. Vincent backed away from Tifa at a more appropriate distance for two people considered as friends and Tifa shyly turned her gaze away from the Reeve as he got up from his seat.

The Cheshire cat grin on Reeve's face made Vincent narrow his eyes in warning. It was never a good sign when Reeve got ideas in his head, especially when he knew he could use the idea against someone.

Reeve was aware of the budding relationship between the two but he didn't expect Vincent to have changed so much. Even just tonight, seeing Cloud and Vincent interacting with each other as if nothing had changed between them was unusual in a definitive way. It was clear to Reeve, that Cloud's relationship with Tifa was more friendly and familial than romantic, just from Tifa's body language towards the two men earlier. He calmly stepped over Reno and Rude, towards Vincent who openly glared at him in warning.

Reeve gave Vincent an innocent smile in response and deliberately sat on the stool that Vincent had previously occupied, causing Vincent to back further away to make room.

Reeve glanced back and forth between the two, "So…"

Vincent could clearly see the slight blush on Tifa's face get redder by the second, and he immediately took the initiative to distract Reeve from it, "Want some water?"

Reeve could tell Vincent was trying to unsuccessfully divert his attention, but seeing the usually stoic man squirm was amusing, so he decided to humor him by agreeing to a glass. As Vincent quickly went round the bar to fill the order, Reeve focused his attention on Tifa. She looked extremely nervous fiddling with her dress, trying to get out the nonexistent wrinkles on it.

The older man leaned forward against the bar using his arm to prop his head up, "So…"

"Your water"

Reeve quickly retreated from the bar top shaking off the excess water that splashed on him when Vincent unceremoniously planted the full glass in front of him. Seeing the irritation on Vincent's face made it worth the mischief he was causing, but he decided to pull back a tad for Tifa's sake.

"Thank you Vincent"

Vincent nodded his head in reply as he came round to sit next to the inquiring man, still wary of his antics. He worked a bit with Reeve in the past and knew the man better than most; he also knew Reeve had a penchant for gossip. It wasn't that he wanted to hide the fact that he was in a semi-quasi-relationship-thing with Tifa; he just had no need to announce it to the world. Vincent glanced at Tifa and saw that she seemed to have composed herself enough that her blush died down but she was still fidgeting with her dress. He crossed his arms and glared at the goateed man seated next to him, "Before you even bother, the answer is yes."

Reeve and Tifa both snapped their heads up in synchronization at his statement. Reeve's expression went from a sweet smile to a mischievous grin, whereas Tifa's blush came back in full force but the complete happiness in her eyes made Vincent quickly clamp down on the urge to crack a smile in front of Reeve lest he give the man more fodder to tease them with.

Just hearing Vincent even elude to their relationship just about made her day, Tifa glanced between Reeve and Vincent who were now engaged in some sort of mental stare down. She watched as Reeve appeared to have conceded and he cleared his throat, his whole demeanor changing from friendly childish uncle to chief executive officer of the WRO.

The older man stiffly straightened up from his slouch on the stool and stood. He placed a hand on Vincent's back and did the same to Tifa before leaning in, and whispering, "Thank you for the party. I had a great time. By the way, I'm also a licensed officiator, so whenever you're ready let me know."

Reeve gave a cheeky wink at Tifa and dodged the swipe that Vincent tried to make at him. Reeve quickly picked up his blazer jacket and left the bar before Vincent could retaliate for all the teasing he did.

The two of them were silent for a moment allowing the dust to settle from Reeve's mischief. The clock's ticking was heard with the sounds of snoring from the sleeping men in the room. Tifa took a peek at Vincent and caught his eyes, which caused her to blush and turn away cupping her cheeks with her hands.

Just that action was enough to warrant Vincent to reach out and pull her close for a hug. Tifa glanced up in surprise for the second time in the evening. This sudden outburst of affection from Vincent was unexpected and it wasn't that Tifa wanted to complain but it did worry her that something might be wrong.

"Vincent?"

He glanced into her eyes and immediately released her as if suddenly now just realizing he was holding her. He quietly cleared his throat and glanced everywhere around the room except at her, "We should probably call it a night."

She could hear the unease in his voice and the deflection from her question, he appeared to be embarrassed, she suppressed the giggle that was threatening to burst perhaps, this was what Vincent was like when teased too much, "Sure, c'mon up. My room is free."

The little wink and suggestive voice she said this wasn't lost on him, but he fiend ignorance and allowed her to lead him upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Someone isn't too happy about Tifa & Vincent together.
> 
> I think I'm at the point of this fic where the ending is very very close. It's been a long road for this fic, I realize now this whole fic is more of a slice of life kind of story and I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far.


	28. Lies

It was the sound of muffled voices that woke her; she slowly opened her eyes and couldn't help but smile as she realized the weight across her midriff was Vincent's arm holding her close. He was still sound asleep, his long bangs were haphazardly parted allowing her full view of his sleeping face. She watched him for a moment, the soothing rhythm of the rise and fall of his chest, his long eyelashes, and full lips slightly parted. It was tempting to fall back asleep again but Tifa knew she had a full house this morning with more than half the party nursing hangovers. She grasped his hand that was loosely wrapped around her waist, trying to pry him off gently but as she did so she found his grip tightening bringing her even closer towards him. Glancing up she found him still asleep, so he was unconsciously responding, had he'd been awake he probably would have released her immediately. She leaned towards him planting a kiss on his lips and prying his arm off of her.

As his eyes fluttered open, Tifa caressed his cheek admiring just how flawless his skin was, "Good Morning"

Vincent focused his gaze at Tifa and smiled, "Morning—

"Tifa, Cloud! Good—!"

The two of them immediately sat up and turned to the door which bounced back from the impact of hitting the wall, standing at the threshold was Denzel in shock at seeing Vincent in the same bed as Tifa.

Marlene came running a moment later, "Denzel, wait…oh."

The four of them stared at each other, as if waiting for some sign or signal to speak.

"Marlene, Denzel, what are you doing standing there?" said Barret as he slowly made his way over to his adopted daughter.

The moment Barret came into view Tifa got out of bed, she was glad that she was decent in her pajamas and thankful that Vincent had advised that they should just go to bed last night despite her invitation for more.

Barret did a comical double-take at seeing Vincent sat up on the bed in his wrinkled dress-shirt, hair messy and nonchalantly staring back at them.

"Hey why is everyone here…?" said Yuffie as Shelke and Shera also stopped in surprise at the threshold with the ninja.

Tifa gave an audible sigh and ran a hand through her hair; she stepped round her bed and sat down next to Vincent. She waited a moment just to see if there was to be any more surprised faces joining the audience at her threshold. She was about to speak when Denzel suddenly spun around and began pushing through the crowd. Tifa quickly got to her feet and kneeled down in front of the boy, she could understand his feelings of wanting to run away from the reality in front of him, and it was probably too much for him to take after all these years of seeing Cloud and her as his surrogate dad and mom, "Denzel"

The boy turned to Tifa, and she was slightly taken aback at his scrunched up face in his effort to prevent the tears that threatened to fall. Denzel sniffled as he pushed Tifa away and stepped forward towards Vincent, who silently stared back at the boy from his position on the bed.

"You lied."

Denzel stared angrily back at Vincent, when he didn't get the reaction he was hoping for the boy stomped a foot forward, hands balled, and angrily repeated his statement as tears streaked down his face, "You lied!"

Vincent silently blinked back at him, knowing that Denzel couldn't be reasoned with at this point, the boy needed to let out his anger.

* * *

Cloud opened his eyes and quickly closed them again, his head was throbbing. Hand to forehead, he slowly sat up and picked off the playing card that stuck to his face. Rubbing more sleep out of his eyes, he carefully stood wary of any quick movements would definitely result in his stomach contents not being in his stomach and on the two sleeping Turks lying on the floor. Shuffling his way forward past Cid in his booth he made his way upstairs and got up to the landing when he heard Denzel's voice down the hall.

The crowd at Tifa's door parted when Cloud made it to the room and Denzel crashed right into his legs crying.

Cloud glanced up to see Tifa's face in her hands seated next to Vincent, he quickly understood the situation. Pulling Denzel off of his legs he knelt down at eye level with the crying boy, Cloud wiped away the tears and Denzel sniffled trying to compose himself.

"What's wrong buddy?"

Denzel wiped his nose with his sleeve and rudely pointed at Vincent, "He lied. He lied and stole Tifa."

Cloud glanced up at Vincent who shook his head in response to Cloud's unspoken question on his face. With how upset Denzel was, it made sense that no matter what Vincent said, the boy wouldn't listen. Cloud scratched the back of his neck and sighed, "How did Vincent steal Tifa? We're all here."

"I saw him in here with Tifa; this is your room right?"

Cloud glanced to back and forth between Vincent and the boy before finally throwing a glare towards Vincent, "Denzel, Vincent didn't steal Tifa from me."

The boy stared wide-eyed at Cloud in surprise, "But—

"Tifa isn't an item, she was never stolen or given away, and she will always care for you just as she cares for me. Don't you want her to be happy also?"

Denzel looked down solemnly before pursing his lips and nodded. Cloud ruffled his hair and turned him around to face Vincent and Tifa, "Go on apologize to him."

Pushing the boy forward, Denzel straightened up and looked Vincent in the eye, "I'm sorry!"

Vincent presented a hand towards Denzel, the boy looked down at his hand then turned to Tifa questioningly, she nodded with a smile and Denzel smiled back before taking Vincent's hand and giving it a good shake.

Vincent leaned forward and conspiratorially whispered, "I'll take good care of her, and you'll do the same for Marlene right?"

Denzel blushed and nodded before grabbing Marlene's hand and running off down the hall followed by Shera who gave Tifa and Vincent a warm smile before going after the kids.

Shelke gave Vincent a knowing smile before forcefully pushing a protesting Yuffie away, "C'mon you, I think Barret needs a few words with the couple."

Cloud stepped into the bedroom along with Barret; he quickly pulled off the askew party hat that was on his head when Vincent motioned to him about it. Barret silently closed the door to the room after he pointed at the bed for Cloud to sit down on.

The three of them were apprehensive about Barret's reaction and they waited for him to face them.

"So…Tifa and Vincent you're a thing?"

When no one responded Barret finally turned around and slumped down on the floor clutching his head, "That's great…next time, tell me when I'm not so hungover."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up I'm going to need at least two weeks to post up the last chapter, it's going to be a long one.


	29. Life

"I love you"

She hugged him tightly and he squeezed back in response. He didn't say the words that they both knew he should have but when she looked up she could see how content he was to have her in his arms….

Tifa shook her head and took another chug of beer. She knew she shouldn't be reminiscing or drinking in her current situation but it couldn't be helped. Cloud had warned her about the cellar door multiple times before he had left for more deliveries in the Costa del Sol area and she had put it off. Tifa knew it was totally her fault that she got herself in this mess trapped in the basement cellar of Seventh Heaven sitting in semidarkness waiting for someone, anyone, to come and open the door for her.

She had already called out a few times but no luck; at least she wouldn't want for drink being surrounded by all the alcohol. The fear was starting to build, considering she was on her own, nobody knew that she was down there, and her phone was on the bar top. She just hoped someone would realize something was wrong when the bar didn't open at its usual hour.

A month had passed since the whole crew knew that Tifa and Vincent were in a relationship. Everyone knew it and could clearly see how happy they were, Tifa had on a few occasions told him that she loved him and he had only responded back each time with a loving look but never the actual words. Tifa could see that Vincent reciprocated her feelings, but just as she had suspected, Vincent was a man of few words but when he spoke they were meaningful. She had spoken about it to the others on a girl's night off, Shera assured her that men like Vincent needed time, Shelke just smiled and nodded in agreement with the older woman. Yuffie on the other hand was quite indignant, but Tifa quickly assured the ninja that it didn't bother her, she just told everyone to leave him to his ways and act like nothing changed besides the fact that he was around more often. Life had returned to the usual pattern, Tifa running Seventh Heaven; Cloud off on his deliveries with Strife Deliveries, and Vincent performing missions for the WRO and any odd jobs that came his way.

Instead of finishing off her beer, Tifa stood and made another circuit around the cellar to check for the fourth time if she missed any escape routes or windows. It was becoming a little chilly and she rubbed her arms hoping that the friction would generate some heat. Again making it back to her point of origin she audibly sighed and decided to do some squats to occupy her time.

* * *

While waiting for the receptionist to sign off on the contents of the delivery, Cloud pulled out his phone and wrote a quick text to Tifa. He sent off the text and wished the receptionist a good day. By the time he made it back to where he parked his bike, Cloud pulled out his phone and frowned. It was his usual reminder to Tifa that the cellar door was broken and usually she would immediately respond with a "Yes, sir!" or a "Yes dad, I know." In this case there wasn't a response so Cloud texted her again and he waited.

Two minutes, three minutes, four minutes and still no response, Cloud phoned her instead. He quickly closed his phone when he got her voice message. He didn't want to think it but, in all likelihood he guessed that she trapped herself in the cellar. The battery bar on the screen of his phone turned red and he inwardly groaned he knew there wasn't enough battery to make a call or text. He also knew that the current area he was in didn't have any public payphone he could use and the closest town over was at least four hours away. Daylight was fading fast; Cloud still had three more urgent deliveries to do and he knew by the time he could phone Vincent it would be very late. He scrambled onto his bike and tore down the street to his next delivery.

* * *

It was unusual for Vincent to check his phone often but somehow he had a feeling that he should. It was already past noon and yet he hadn't received any of Tifa's usual daily text messages. He currently was making his way back home after completing a mission for Reeve to help with the extraction of a few stranded WRO members trapped in a collapsed mine. He knew that he should be used to using his phone by now yet it still felt like a foreign concept to him now that he had a smart phone compared to his old flip one. Scrolling back up to the top for the last text message he received from Tifa, he opened it up and fumbled a bit to type out, " _Is everything alright?_ "

He waited a moment and yet didn't receive the instant reply from her, which was highly unusual as he would usually receive a call from her after he had texted her, with Tifa immediately teasing him by saying he finally learned how to use his phone or her amused yet pleased voice that his text surprised her.

Vincent glanced around him and found the extraction team leader sending off the last ambulance to the hospital. He silently went over to the man and notified him of his departure, after saying his usual pleasantries and assuring the man he would go back to HQ for a proper debriefing, Vincent called Tifa.

"Hi!—

"Ti—

"— _You've reached my voice message, leave your name and number I'll get back to you ASAP. Thank you, bye bye._ "

Vincent frowned and quickly made his way back to his car; if Tifa wasn't responding then something must have happened.

" _No she didn't call me. Yo, Vincent is she okay?"_

" _Hey, Vinny this is new— Tifa? No she hasn't called Shelke or me. Is everything alright?"_

Vincent silently shook his head as he made his way down the highway. He was glad for the hands-free function that his car provided that let him use his phone while driving but the news he got from Barret and Yuffie didn't sound good. He had tried calling Cloud but there was only the telephone company saying that his call couldn't go through. He had hoped that by the time he arrived at Seventh Heaven the bar would be open and Tifa would be there.

* * *

After the fiftieth squat, Tifa lay down on the floor her legs spent and breathing heavy. She laughed at herself and sighed massaging her calves, it had been a while since she did so many squats. She thought back to the young soldier she had met back in Nibelheim during her summer break on the mountain trail where she worked as a guide. The soldier with dark hair and a flirtatious demeanor, every day at the campfire she'd see him do a hundred squats, it amused and surprised her how dedicated he was to his training regimen despite how much training she knew the SOLDIER program probably had. She rubbed her calves once more and shook her head. Tifa stopped her train of thought there, if she continued it would only bring back the slightly numb pain from her scar that she received that faithful day from Sephiroth.

Tifa couldn't tell what time it was as there were no windows in the cellar but she had a feeling that it was probably supposed to be opening time. She winced slightly from getting up after working her legs and made her way to the stairs. Sitting on the step closest to the door she took a deep breath and called out again.

"Help! Can anyone hear me?!"

* * *

As the Seventh Heaven sign came into view, Vincent's fear rose when he saw the darkened bar. He quickly parked his car and went up to the main door where two recognizable faces were loitering around.

Rude elbowed Reno and the red-head turned around eyes widening in surprise as Vincent approached.

"Valentine, Tifa on holiday or…."

Ignoring the man, Vincent stepped round the two and peered in the window. He frowned and pulled out his phone.

"Hey I have the same model!"

Vincent swiftly moved away causing Reno to fall forward as the red-head tried to lean on the taller man's shoulder to see who Vincent was trying to call. The muffled sound of a ringtone could be heard and the three of them glanced inside the bar. The smart phone on the bar top lighted the room and Vincent cancelled his call. Pocketing his phone and running round to the side door with Reno and Rude in tow, Vincent pulled out a key and opened the door.

"Tifa! Tifa are you there!?"

* * *

Tifa sighed she had spent probably the last ten minutes calling out but no response. She knew that if she tried hard enough she could break down the door, but decided the repair of the destruction of the door and door frame would cost more than just getting the door repaired. Once she got out there were going to be many changes and upgrading to be done to the bar especially the cellar. She was about to take another nap when she could sort of make out the sound of scuffling boots. Standing from her position at the bottom of the stairs she rushed up and banged on the door calling out.

" _Hey you hear that?_ "

"Vincent!" Tifa was so grateful to see him being the one who opened the cellar door. She was about to move on her own when Vincent swept her up and carried her over to the nearest booth.

"Are you alright? Do you know where you are?"

Tifa smiled brightly and cupped his face which caused him to stop his hands from continuing the search for any broken bones on her body.

"I'm fine. It's just the cellar door was broken so I was trapped for the day."

Tifa lightly giggled when Vincent suddenly rushed forward and hugged her tightly. She noticed Reno and Rude awkwardly standing near the bar watching them and she waved a hand at them which they sheepishly waved back and turned around to leave via side door.

She returned his hug and pulled back as far as she could from his hold on her when she heard him muffle something into her hair, "What did you say?"

He finally released her and smirked, "I said 'have you been drinking?'"

Tifa pushed him away and laughed, "You don't smell too fresh either, Jerk."

* * *

It was when Tifa put away the last dish that Vincent's phone rang. She watched him calmly answer it and then turned to the counter top noticing Cloud's phone charger next to the cleaned coffee pot.

"She is fine…yes I found her. Why don't you talk to her?" Vincent rose from his seat and offered his phone to her mouthing Cloud's name at her.

Tifa sighed and shook her head in exasperated amusement as she waved Cloud's phone charger in front of Vincent's face.

"Cloud, yes I'm fine."

" _You got trapped didn't you?_ "

There was a slight 'I-Told-You-So' tone in Cloud's voice so Tifa retaliated in a sing-song-voice with, "And you forgot your phone charger again."

She could hear him loudly sigh over the sound of crashing waves, " _Okay we're even. So you're really okay?_ "

"Cloud, don't make me hang up on you."

" _I get it, you're okay! But_ —

She hung up on him and changed the setting on the phone to the camera selfie mode. She motioned for Vincent to lean forward and he did. Tifa held the phone in one hand and pointed her index finger on her cheek in which Vincent rolled his eyes and planted a kiss while she took the photo and sent it to Cloud. She returned the phone to Vincent with a smirk, "That was a good photo if I say so myself."

Vincent glanced down at the photo and smiled, she was right.

* * *

It was late and Tifa was exhausted even though she didn't open the bar for the night. They had called it a night and were both lying in her bed. She turned to her side and smiled as Vincent watched and smiled back as he pulled her close hugging her tightly replicating the same hug he gave her earlier.

Tifa smiled and mumbled, "You said something again…"

Vincent smirked and slightly shook his head, "Sleep."

"M'kay…"

Vincent brushed Tifa's hair from her sleeping face and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before closing his own eyes, "I said I love you."

_Fin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! I'm currently working on an epilogue...sorry I know I said at least two weeks and it ended up becoming like three and half. Distractions and it's E3 season.


	30. Midnight

_Epilogue - Midnight._

* * *

Sixty years, sixty blessed beautiful, crazy, and happy years. Years that brought tears and sorrow were but a distant memory when aligned together with the joyful years: Marlene graduating top of the class in law school, Denzel getting his motorcycle license, Renovations on Seventh Heaven completing, Yuffie's coronation as the official crown princess of Wutai, Cid and Shera's maiden launch of their new airship…it all came together into a very fulfilling life.

Tifa was flipping through a photo album that evening with Cloud nodding silently and making the odd comment when a particular photo caught his eye. It was Wednesday night and Marlene could see the change of expression of Tifa's face like she knew something or rather someone special was coming to visit her. Cloud was seated across from Tifa and he nodded to Denzel who helped him move to the living room.

They had grown older which nonetheless bothered Tifa to no end as she grew older it appeared like Vincent hadn't aged a bit. Over the years he cut his hair once and after that he decided to not cut it that short again after promising Tifa. Shelke had mentioned with a wink to Tifa that that hairstyle was the same one he had back when he was just a Turk working in the Shinra labs. Secretly Tifa had liked his shorter haircut, but when they went out together they would get stares like Tifa was dating a much younger man when technically he was over twice her age.

Vincent made his way up the stairs pausing before a mirror, his hair was tied back and he fixed his tie. He turned to glance at his profile, he looked just over the age of thirty, the slight greying at his temples further emphasized how different his body aged but he learned to live with it from Tifa. There were many things that Tifa taught him but it was Tifa herself that became his reason to live this life surrounded by friends and family.

When Vincent finally walked into the room, he handed the bouquet of yellow and white lilies to Marlene who whispered to him as she passed to put the flowers into water, "Today's a good day."

Vincent silently nodded and stepped toward Tifa who looked up with a bright smile, "Good Evening Tifa"

Tifa grinned and motioned towards the chair next to her, "Come join me, you know you look like this young man I knew once long ago…."

_Fin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support especially so to those that gave feedback on this fic of mines.
> 
> I initially wrote this for my own purposes in what I would want to read in a fic. Trying to stay true to the canon facts while bringing a fresh take on characters was incredibly challenging (I mean this fic almost took me 5 years just to complete it, plus this is my first time staying in canon and not wandering into AUs). Tiny tidbit for this epilogue, I was actually going to go a much darker route (where everyone died and only Vincent was left) but this felt like the less extreme and more fulfilling route to go though it is slightly bittersweet.
> 
> I have a two VinTi AU fics in the works but they're nowhere near publishing quality...but I think I may just wander into FFXV territory...anywho, thank you for reading!


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